I received this message not long ago.

Rulers rejected extension of CJ. Power to the Rulers. Power to the Rakyat.

Next? Lawyers are ready to boycott the the judiciary by walking out of courts.

"I think, at its extraordinary general meeting on Nov 22, the Bar must be prepared to take the necessary resolutions to put a stop to this nonsense.

"I’m suggesting that there’s no other way to drive the point home that, until the judiciary is clean, we will not take part in a system that has become so tainted (because) we (would be tarred) by the same brush," laywer Haris Ibrahim said. [Malaysiakini]

Now I pass it over to you.

Now, we’re watching a brand new show of cop-against-cop as reported by Malaysiakini.

I read about the RM27 million man, I read about ACA here and there, I read Deputy Minister of Internal Security Johari Baharum’s name mentioned here and there, I read Johor-based businessman Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku, who is allegedly an underworld kingpin.

But more importantly, why the explosive press statement by Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Ramli Yusuff who admitted he was the RM27 million man?

Why according to IGP Musa Hassan, there is no rift within the police top brass while Ramli admitted to the world that there’s a disturbance in the force?

I remember I read about their names in Malaysia Today by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, probably RPK is right after all?

Yesterday, declaring open the 14th Malaysian Law Conference, Malaysiakini reported that HRH Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak said public perception of the judiciary matters.

In this regard the principal quality a judiciary must possess is “impartiality”. Lord Devlin said of "judicial impartiality" that it exists in two senses-the reality of impartiality and the appearance of impartiality. He emphasized that the appearance of impartiality was the more important of the two.

Impartiality also means that judges are not only free from influence of external forces, but also of one another. No judge however senior can dictate to his brethren as to how a decision should be arrived at.

It is of the essence of a judge’s character that he must be a person of unquestionable integrity who brings an unbiased mind to his task.

Click here to read the full speech and download the article in PDF here.

While the Sultan admitted that society is more complex today and the task of judges may be more difficult then what it was before, but the values are universal and eternal, hence he is convinced that there is no reason why judges with the assured security of tenure they enjoy under the Constitution should not discharge their duties impartially, confidently and competently.

Lastly, he concluded that judges in Malaysia must be ever mindful that they are appointed judges for all Malaysians, therefore they must be sensitive to the feelings of all parties, irrespective of race, religion or creed, and be careful not to bring a predisposed mind to an issue before them that is capable of being misconstrued by the watching public or segments of them.

"In a multi-racial and multi religious society like yours and mine, while we judges cannot help being Malay or Chinese or Indian; or being Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or whatever, we strive not to be too identified with any particular race or religion – so that nobody reading our judgement with our name deleted could with confidence identity our race or religion, and so that the various communities, especially minority communities, are assured that we will not allow their rights to be trampled underfoot." [Tun Suffian, Lord President from 1974 to 1982]

Daulat Tuanku!

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who cancelled his appearance at the opening ceremony at the eleventh hour, in his keynote address at a dinner hosted by him said that judiciary problem in Malaysia hasn’t reached its worst yet.

"A demonstration gives the impression that a problem has reached an intractable impasse, even when, in reality, it has not," he said.

Just like what the rubbish minister has to say, erosion of public confidence in the judiciary is a matter of perception, hence to him and the Government, there isn’t any crisis in place.

"That’s their perception which may not necessary be mine. What is (meant by) ‘public’? Does it mean 1,000 to 2,000 people or the whole nation? We respect opinions but the government has its own perception so we agree to disagree." […]

"They (Bar Council) are talking from a legal point of view (but) we (the government) run a country. We’re looking from the summit of the mountain and they are looking (from) their eye level."

Having said all of that, justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. That is a basic principle for any society that respects and upholds the rule of law, where one of the fundamental rules of any functioning democracy is a clear and transparent system of justice.

Unfortunately, this is the essential part where the rubbish minister, the PM and the Government fails to see and act upon.

By choice or by default? You bet.

P/S: HRH Sultan Azlan Shah is a constitutional law expert and former Lord President (now called Chief Justice) before he relinquished the post to become the Raja Muda of Perak in 1984 and on to become the Sultan of Perak a few months later when his predecessor, Sultan Idris Shah passed away.

Besides, the Sultan still holds the record (in the Guiness Book of Records) as the world’s highest educated monarch.

Last week, Jerai MP Badruddin Amiruldin attacked Karpal Singh for his physical disability in Parliament.

"Now you are sitting in a wheel chair. God has punished you," he said.

Now, as reported by Malaysiakini, he has apologized.

"At times, during the heat of an argument, we tend to say things that we don’t mean. I’m actually a very loving and courteous person." […]

"I have even pushed his wheelchair when we celebrated his birthday in Parliament."

But trust me, just like The Terminator, he’ll be back.

Pi mai pi mai tang tu.

After our final discussion among the organizing team, we’ve decided that the next Bangsa Malaysia’s stop is Penang!

 

Event : Malam Bangsa Malaysia

Date : 3rd November, 2007

Time : 8.00pm

Venue : Room A, Dewan Sri Pinang, Pulau Pinang.

There will be a charge of RM10 per person to cover rental and refreshment costs.

The event can only accommodate 200 people and attendance is by invitation.

The organising team has also put together a forum entitled ‘One People, One Nation’ which is open to all who are registered to attend the get-together later that night.  

The forum is scheduled to start at 5pm. Registration will start at 4.30pm.

Speakers for the forum are :

1. Dato Seri Lim Chong Keat

2. Khoo Kay Peng (Independent Political Analyst)

3. Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

4. Haris Ibrahim

5. P. Ramakrishnan (Aliran’s president)

You can read about the KL Bangsa Malaysia get-together here and here.

During the get-together after the forum, the award winning documentary ‘Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka‘ by Fahmi Reza  will be screened. Fahmi will also be with us to share with us his motivation for the documentary.

To get yourself an invitation, please send your name and ic number to bangsamalaysiapenang@gmail.com

Now the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) has completed its investigation as reported by Malaysiakini.

The outcome? Failure to determine its authenticity.

You know, that’s what we really expected.

What’s not expected from this blogger (and maybe many of us) is when Indonesia Minister for Communications and Information Mohammad Nuh declared October 27 as National Bloggers’ Day to motivate bloggers to keep on improving their content, our Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz said blogs in Malaysia are rubbish.

I don’t. I don’t waste my time. The few pieces that people print for me are just rubbish.

I’d rather spend my time to do things that are constructive; that go down directly to the people who are really in need of the help of the government.

Our bloggers are really not up to standard. When they put up something, it’s not something that they want to discuss in a very intellectual way.

It’s more because of their anger - the language they use. Why should I read all this rubbish?

Oh by the way, the horse suggested that if people are unhappy with the judiciary, they should vote BN out.

Click here to read the full article and download the article in PDF here.

Meanwhile, I hope one day, minus those idiots in place, we’d be able to emulate the feat of our Indonesia counterparts in near future. Enda and guys, congratulations, you guys rock!

Malaysian doubles’ and world number one Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong made a remarkable comeback to win the Denmark Super Series 2007, beating Danish veterans Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen with a sensational 14-21, 21-14, 21-12 in 48 minutes, further reaffirm their world number one status with style.

Their performance is simply wonderful, topped with extraordinary jumping smashes, net plays, anticipation, interception and great defensive play, they are really a pair to be feared for years to come if they perform persistently.

Besides recording a 4-0 winning streak against the Danish pair, this is also their 4th Super Series title and 6th titles of the year, more than any other men doubles.

It’s also worth mentioned that their coach Rexy Mainaky wasn’t there to give tips and they’re able to pull through with help from Rexy’s assistance Pang Cheh Chang.

Congratulations folks, keep up the good work in a humble way in the next French Open and more importantly, stand tall and be humble as usual!

November 2006, Michael Backman, an author, analyst and columnist who specializes in Asian culture and corporate practices wrote an article about Malaysia on The Age.

Subsequently, due to overwhelming response, he published an article on his space in which he explained a few big problems in Malaysia, namely transparency, corruption, education, etc.

"Malaysia also has a big problem with transparency. Too little account is made of how other people’s money is spent. The police too are way too corrupt for a country as developed as Malaysia. The rote learning that is practiced in the schools also needs to be done away with. Generations of Malaysian children are missing out on an education that should teach them how to be creative and critical - this is what a truly modern, boleh country needs," he said.

In merely a year’s time, he writes another article on Malaysia in which he reviews Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s performance after been in office for four years.

He said Pak Lah has achieved a remarkable feat none of his predecessors could, which is he has united most of his country’s elder statesmen, established businessmen and intellectuals.

And, behold, here comes the catch!

They are united in their utter dismay at his performance, a point that many such individuals made to me on a recent visit to Malaysia.

The despair is compounded by the near impossibility of getting rid of Abdullah.

"Is Pak Lah really that bad?" blogger Unspun asked.

You tell him.

Kota Baru MP Zaid Ibrahim, someone I’d rate as the "conscience of Umno" told Parliament yesterday to establish a royal commission to probe into the infamous "VK Lingam tape" as reported by Malaysiakini.

Zaid, a lawyer by profession, raised a few points which no doubt is going to further strengthen concern on the purpose of the establishment of three-man independent panel.

1. The panel is powerless, why not just form a royal commission?
2. Why the panel and ACA are investigating the matter together?
3. Go after the message, not the messenger!

More importantly, Zaid raised an interesting perspective which has never been highlighted before, when he said the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wanted a royal commission of inquiry set up to investigate the tape but some people in the government do not want the commission.

Who’s the "some people", it doesn’t matter, that’s beside the point.

What really matter is, why our PM can’t be seen as doing the right thing at his own conscience?

Just once, can’t you, my dear PM please ….

[UPDATED VERSION] Blogger Peter Tan, who is also a volunteer for Independent Living Programme for People with Disabilities Kuala Lumpur, demanded the Jerai MP to retract his statement and urged him to focus on fulfilling his responsibility to their electorate.

AS a wheelchair user for the last 23 years, I am absolutely upset with Jerai member of parliament Badruddin Amiruldin for telling fellow-MP Karpal Singh that the latter’s use of a wheelchair is a punishment from God (”Kar-pal: Lawyer wrote part of judgment for civil suit” — NST, Oct 23).

Badruddin’s remark is an affront to all wheelchair users, implying that our condition is a punishment and that we are all sinners. […]

Disability is not a punishment from God. Badruddin reveals his insensitivity and ignorance in making such a statement. The lack of dignity and decorum shown by several MPs during parliamentary debates recently is appalling.

Instead of abusive personal attacks on fellow MPs, they should focus on fulfilling their responsibilities to their electorate.

[ORIGINAL VERSION] The notorious Jerai MP Badruddin Amiruldin is at work again, back to his usual antics.

Earlier, touching on the subject of manners, Karpal irked Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin (BN-Jerai) when he remarked that there was little hope of seeing courtesy and good manners in the house.

"The Jerai MP is notorious for using foul language. The Kinabatangan member (Datuk Bung Moktar Radin) is no better," he said, referring to a foul word uttered by Badruddin during a sitting.

An angry Badruddin shouted back at Karpal. You are no better. Calling us (BN MPs) animals… you insult people. Now you are sitting in a wheel chair. God has punished you.

Click here to read the full article and download the article in PDF here.

In every circus you have a clowns and jesters and thanks to political immaturity and a suspect selection process for political appointments in Malaysia, we have one in Parliament - the Jerai MP.

If such individuals and those who condone such behavior continue in political office, there will be further erosion of the image and credibility of the multi-racial Barisan Nasional government.

In the interest of interparty cordiality and fellowship, it is pertinent that PM and BN chairman Abdullah Ahmad Badawi removes such individuals from political office.