Cleanse the judiciary of all allegations of corruption

LETTER | The judiciary had been in the doldrums for some decades now. The rot was there – very obvious – but there was no one to bell the cat, as it were.

Some astounding judgments had outraged many Malaysians but they could do nothing. There was a lot of suspicious and startling decisions which favoured the politicians and the government of the day but nobody could nail the wrong-doers.

Renegade judges have brought down the once august dignity of the judiciary. In certain cases, their decisions were clearly apparent they were merely serving their political masters who either appointed them or promoted them.

By their glaring conduct, they tarnished the image of the judiciary and brought shame to the judiciary which was entrusted to uphold justice.

What the Court of Appeal Judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer has disclosed was outrageous. This was the first time that a member of the judiciary had come forward to reveal the corruption in the judiciary. He must be complimented for his courage and integrity.

But this is nothing new. In the past, another judge tried to expose the corruption in the judiciary and paid a heavy price for it. He lost his pension and was forced to resign.

Some 14 years ago, in an article, Aliran published a litany of wrong-doings that were shocking and flabbergasting but it hardly caused a ripple.

The judiciary didn’t care; the government of the day wasn’t bothered; the Anti-Corruption Agency didn’t spring into action. Unbelievably, nothing happened.

The unbridled corruption didn’t prick the conscience of anyone. It was a different time in our history. There was so much tolerance for corruption!

But today we have a government which came to power promising the rule of law and pledging to wipe out corruption. This exposure has given the Pakatan Harapan the golden opportunity to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to weed out the corrupt elements in the judiciary.

As Lord Denning said, “Silence is not an option when things are ill done.”

P RAMAKRISHNAN is the former Aliran president.

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