Malaysiakini - Wednesday November 21

No puppet AG and puppet judges, please
Kim Quek

The promotion of Abdul Gani Patail as the new attorney general is a slap on the face of all Malaysians, as the appointment came after the Federal Court (highest court) has practically crucified him for his alleged role to fabricate evidence against the former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in the latter’s trial.

In a recent Federal Court judgment (June 28) quashing a ‘contempt’ of court conviction on Anwar’s lawyer Zainur Zakaria, the judges have repeatedly questioned the propriety of Abdul Gani’s conduct in relation to his alleged role to use the death penalty to extort false evidence from Anwar’s tennis pal for the purpose of convicting Anwar.

As a leading prosecutor in the Anwar trial, Gani should have been swiftly investigated and brought to justice for his alleged criminal activities. Instead, to the horror of this country, he is now promoted to be the all-powerful attorney general, a position that has been vested with the sole discretion to prosecute or not to prosecute anyone.

This horror appointment, coming on the heel of two highly dubious appointments in senior judicial positions, is a clear signal that the ugly head of executive interference in the judiciary is once again raised in combat readiness to face off the much acclaimed judicial reforms initiated by Chief Justice Mohd Dzaiddin Abdullah.

The two judicial appointments concerned are the Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz and Federal Court Judge Mohtar Abdullah.

Justice Ahmad in his capacity as an Appellate Court judge had earlier dismissed Zainur’s appeal against the ‘contempt’ conviction, which was subsequently quashed with severe reprimand for its many irregularities and improprieties by the Federal Court on June 28. Justice Ahmad’s confidence-sapping performance as a judge, as well as his promotion over another judge of higher seniority and more illustrious records have been subjects of heavy criticism in a recent Bar Council journal Insaf.

Mohtar Abdullah was the attorney general who led the prosecuting team in the Anwar trials. Apart from his highly questionable conduct in the infamous Anwar trials, including his involvement with Abdul Gani in the evidence-fabricating scandal mentioned above, he was criticised on numerous occasions in his tenure as attorney general for practising selective prosecution, waiving criminal charges including rape and corruption against senior Umno leaders while quick in unjustly prosecuting opposition leaders for exposing criminal activities of government leaders.

To a country like Malaysia, which has already lost all checks and balances of a functioning democracy, the battle to revive judicial independence is a matter of life or death. A truly independent judiciary will be able to restore justice to the people, and return a level playing field of contest for power between the incumbent and the challenger.

A practical example is Anwar’s final appeal against his conviction in the first trial, which was scheduled to be heard in the Federal Court on Nov 12, but was postponed, we were told, due to the illness of a judge. If Anwar succeeds in this appeal, as well as in all his subsequent appeals against his conviction in the second trial, he will be set free from prison.

Similarly, reformasi leaders currently detained without trial under the Internal Security Act, have also made their final appeal to the Federal Court against previous dismissal of their habeas corpus application. This hearing, scheduled on Nov 19, has also been postponed due, we were told again, to the illness of a judge. If these reformasi leaders succeed in their appeal, this would have meant the court has stepped in to put a stop to the current rampant and reckless abuse of the ISA to crush legitimate political dissent.

The above scenario is no dream, but a distinct reality, if the Chief Justice succeeds in restoring the judiciary as an independent and efficient institution, expeditiously fulfilling its functions under the Constitution.

An honorable judiciary is our last line of defence against the prime minister’s incessant encroachment on whatever little human rights that is still left to us. Let us draw a line here and now that the prime minister must not cross in his insatiable quest for more powers to enslave us.

Let us reject his puppet AG and his puppet judges.