...and a tribute to former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and the 5 brave judges - Tan Sri Azmi Kamaruddin, (the late) Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader, Tan Sri Wan Hamzah Mohamed Salleh, (the late) Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and Datuk George Seah -- who defended him after he was sacked in 1988.
The judges and lawyers I spoke to at the Malaysian Bar Council dinner tonight were very hopeful of a new beginning for the judiciary in the country.
This was after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi delivered his keynote address, "Delivering Justice, Renewing Trust" in which he announced judicial reforms including the setting up of a judicial appointment commission.
But what was more important was the Prime Minister's acknowledgment and recognition of Tun Salleh's and the judges' contribution.
Read it here.
Short of saying sorry or offering an apology, Abdulah said the government wanted to recognise “their commitment towards upholding justice and to acknowledge the pain and loss they have endured".
He spoke of compensation i.e. goodwill ex-gratia payment to the judges.
"I do not presume to equate your contributions, pain and loss with mere currency, but I hope that you can accept this as a heartfelt and sincere gesture to mend what has been.”
Indeed, as Salleh had intimated earlier today -- no monetary payment can ever adequately compensate his suffering the last 20 years.
Salleh was present with his wife and children (and their spouses). So was Azmi.
Seah was unable to attend the dinner.
Is this a closure of the sad event in 1988?
And a start of better things for the country?
(Tun Salleh was sacked on Aug 8, 1988 by a tribunal for misconduct. The 5 judges were suspended for granting Tun an interlocutory order against the tribunal.
Tan Sri Azmi, Tan Sri Wan Hamzah and Tan Sri Eusoffe were reinstated while Seah and Wan Suleiman were sacked.)
Ha Ha...
ReplyDeleteKak Aina,
Don't be easily fooled by his sudden kind hearted action..Why not do this in 2004 ??Only now when Tun Dr M is at full force...this guy want to reform everything and expect every lawyer to support him..Cheap stunt lah..
Ha Ha Ha..
ReplyDeleteKak Aina,
Why you said "no lah" when he ask you whether you write bad thing about him..Never know you also a hypocrite..by the way please don't be easily fooled by his sudden kind hearted action...It's all about putting Tun Dr M in a bad light..why he didn't do it in 2004..hmmm...real cheap stunt lah..
Dear kak,
ReplyDeleteI was only 2 when this happened, so I don't know much about it. But from recent coverage, this seems to be the best move that can be made.
Let's hope that this is truly a new beginning. And let's hope that bygones can really be bygones.
Thanks for updating us.=)
Michelle
anis: i dont think anyone is easily fooled. but you know, it does not matter what his designs or his intentions are. the point is, it is good that he has opened the door, paved the way, whatever we can call it.
ReplyDeletei am glad for Tun Salleh and the others.
and you know what, when I was with the PM last night, the last question I had for him was " Pak Lah, why now, Pak Lah, why did you not do this when you became PM?"
Talk about being saved by the "bell"....as soon as I finished my "sentence", the waiter came with his plate of dinner....
The PM smiled at me...and I didn;t want to press for an answer, and I said, "aaah....Pak Lah, saved by the food".
I will ask him the next time I see him.
And Anis, call me a hyprocrite, but I didnt have to tell him whether I was blogging good or bad things about him..
Thank you.
Hi...Sincerity of Pak Lah about this is clear. Better late than never. This too were the sentiments of the players affected. Bravo i say to this belated move.
ReplyDeleteNever mind whatever light that puts Tun M into with this.Am sure that end of the day Tun has a consciense and lots of mirrors that he looks into from time to time. Find your answers there Tun. These were six good human beings of which two have since returned to meet our maker. And we too are going up behind them.
Have a question for Pak Lah though if he reads this. The V K Lingam video scandal and Tengku Adnan connection is clear. Why this recognition by Pak Lah to this Tengku Adnan if truly sincere ?
Eg appointment as UMNO Secretary General even as the rakyat awaits the second Royal Comission (RC) report as yet.
Should this man too NOT pay for all that has since been revealed vide that video or are we to hear soon that he has been absolved ? Cannot wait for this Second RC report.
Aina please ask this question too ref Adnan if you have a chance.Explain the contradiction ref sincerity dear Prime Minister.
Sicko
18 April 2008
But what did it take to get this from this UMNO led BN government which refused to acknowledge any judicial problems until after March 8th?
ReplyDeleteLets just remind ourselves.
Firstly we had the Correct Correct Correct Video.
Then The lawyers march in Putrajaya
Then 10th November 2007 BERSIH rally.
Then HINDRAF's 25th November rally.
Then the illegal detention of the HINDRAF 5 over some dream that Badawi had that they are terrorits.
Then the Temple Demolitions
Then the 8th March Election disaster for UMNO.
But all of this still did not do the trick.
They had to do something quick to get back some semblance of support for a failing regime.
Look into the baggage they were carrying. Quick and easy and least costly and yet most popular..Judiciary redress..Hence an UMNO disliked member and shunned over the elections becomes UMNO's darling and called back to service as "Law Minister" in the PM's Department.
But most important of all.
Mahathir!! How much better can you shut him up then through the resurrection of this ghost that will forever be edified as Mahathir's legacy?
Today, Mahathir is damned and condemned. Finally the UMNO led government concedes the errors of their ways 20 years ago.
But sadly this act on the part of Badawi is tainted. For him to be credited with starting this process of putting right a wrong only when cornered like a wounded tiger is pathetic.
The seeming generosity is discredited by the humongous gains Badawi gets discrediting and damning Mahathir.
Hey, Badawi, you could have done this anytime in the last 4 years and even during your honeymoon period when Mahathir still attended lunches and dinners you presided over.
Your timing now sucks! On the verge of being kicked out of UMNO you turn this stunt.
Yes, I too am glad for Salleh Abas and the others as well as hopeful for the judiciary.
But just like Badawi requires 30,000 people on the street and a blatant lie said before he responds, let us not forget that this act of his motivated more by shutting up Mahathir and condemning his legacy as well as seemingly hoping to list at least this act as his legacy before UMNO dumps him completely.
Obviously UMNO itself may not be too happy with this as they now may loose control over the judiciary which many of them may not like or will be comfortable with.
Dear Kak,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It is only polite to reply that way to YAB AAB. In any case, he already knows. Although I agree with the others that he should have done it earlier in 2004, not now...nasi dah jadi bubur. He would be a strong PM today not a weak one, with his own ministers attacking him.
I am sure the speech was written by Zaid Ibrahim but was edited and that part of APOLOGY was deliberately deleted.
ReplyDeleteIn anycase, Pak Lah wants Mahathir to be soley responsible and still harbour hopes that an 80-something Muslim would REPENT ...
that's what his father and grandfather taught him ...
But did you read Lim Guan Eng and the visit of the Late Fadzil Noor to prison and gave him a book on Umar Abd Aziz ...
check this out ...
Hamid Omar.
The suggested Commission for Judicial Appointments should bypassing PM and reporting directly to Rulers Conference.
ReplyDeleteOnly then, this will make Judiciary independent from Executive an Legislature.
Those who played a part to this fiasco are criminals. How can you let go these criminals when you know who are those? No action on them set a seriously bad precedence in our judiciary.
Remember that the PM appointed Zaki Tun Azmi to the presidency of the appellate court, that sting is still there, that alone smacks of reluctance to break the executive's control over the judiciary... I am not hopeful. This looks like smoke and mirrors
ReplyDeletePlus I feel the monetary compensation is an insult coming from the PM himself. perhaps a tribunal of their peers should have been set up to determine how best to address the miscarriage of justice/administration that was inflicted on them....
Just someone grasping at straws trying to regain a bit of political credibility...too little too late....dulu geram, lepas tu marah, kemudian benci, sekarang dah meluat..... buat apa pun orang dah tak nak ambil tau lagi
berambusLah
After the judiciary , Pak Lah should start next with PDRM . The recent fiasco by the KL Police against PKR leaders about the Black 14 dinner speeches is one good example . There are a lot of unwanted sheeps in PDRM which should be sent to the abbatoir.
ReplyDeleteAnis
ReplyDeleteTo make it not so cheap stunt, he should sujud and kiss the judges feet. Will you be satisfied, then?
Kak Ena,
ReplyDeleteAt least Tun Salleh has his retribution even though it is short of apology.
My late father was never given any chance at all. He was stone walled and deep frozen by the previous PM for fighting justice and to keep the government free of corruption.
That kinda leave me with bitterness of the current UMNO led government because of the injustice that has been done to him.
Hopefully the future will have more justice then what is currently going on.
Keturunan Jebat
I agree with Anis, it is pure hypocrisy. An action that was triggered by the dismal election result, rather than honesty. Cheap stunt - basically to (1)improve personal support particularly in the wake of calls for leadership change (2) to discredit or shut up TDM
ReplyDeleteIn other word, if BN had performed well in the election; this people would still be arrogant as usual, believing that only their thought is correct
Salam Puan Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteWhile the intention of AAB may be good, the timing of his action casts doubt on his sincerity. While I agree with his admission that the goodwill ex-gratia payment could not compensate for the loss and grief suffered, I do not see the need for him to announce this. And then tagging this offer with the `humble' request for closure?
C'mon la! In layman's term, this is simply like, `Eh... haritu aku kasi problem kat engkau. Hari ni aku bayar la... kira settle, ok?' Kawtim.
I think AAB had to come up with this ex-gratia payment because he could not (or perhaps would not)offer a full apology. So this payment scheme is somewhat like a compromise. Better than nothing, I suppose, while at the same time scoring a bit on the popularity angle.
To me, it is not AAB's role to apologise anyway. It should be the Government's. But to do this, we firstly need to establish what wrong (if any) had been done to the affected judges. In this aspect, I'm in agreement with the comments made by Wan Noor Azli, the late Wan Suleiman's son, as quoted in Malaysiakini, reproduced below :
"Even if we accept (the payment), we accept it with a heavy heart. People still don’t really know why these judges were sacked? Why they were found guilty? Why they acted in such a way?"
"People need to know what actually happened. This is a matter of principle," he stressed. "We (the families) are not really disappointed (with the gesture) but we are disappointed that the case is not re-opened (although) the government said it wanted to reform the judiciary, and the 1988 crisis is the mother of all judiciary crisis."
I agree with anis and Kholeed, I don't think Abdullah did it on his full conscience.. more like an effort to be popular. this thing will backfire on AAB and KJ. Bet my life on that!
ReplyDeletei guess everyone always had one bad thing to say about other people. If AAB did not do it, people condemn him. He did it and people still condemned him. Yeah, his timing really sucked to do this kind of what you would call a cheap stunt to gain people's confidence but have it ever occured to you that at least he had the guts to do it and reverse what was wrong that has been done by the previous administration, although he knows that he might be condemned by his own 'people' in UMNO. I would really like to see a PM that could do what he did and not resulted to what OUR BELOVED TUN MM did to others to hold on to power.
ReplyDeleteThink, and don't be a hypocrite.
Let God judge AAB, not us.
IN HISTORY THIS WILL BE RECORDED AS THE MOVE THAT SAVED PAK LAH FROM A VIOLENT POLITICAL DYING.
ReplyDeleteIN ONE FALL SWOOP, THE MAN HAS BEEN LIFTED FROM WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DISHONOURABLE DEMISE TO A PROGNOSIS THAT IS RATHER UPLIFTING.
WHAT A CLEVER ACT OF GRACE! HEALING AN AILING JUDICIARY AND AT THE SAME TIME CURING HIS OWN POLITICAL AILMENTS!
A ONE-UP FOR YOU ZAID IBRAHIM WHO IS GRINNING SMUGLY LIKE A CHESHIRE CAT! AND A RATHER PLUMP ONE AT THAT!
WHATEVER - THIS STRATEGIC MOVE BY THE PM WILL DEFINITELY GIVE HIM THE PUBLIC SUPPORT AND TIME HE NEEDS TO REPAIR THE DAMNING PARTY UPHEAVALS CAUSED BY THE ELECTIONS AND THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER PLAY.
PAK LAH IS POISED TO STAY AROUND FOR A WHILE TO REDEEM HIS GOOD GUY IMAGE.
AND BECAUSE HE IS A GOOD MAN ALLAH WILL NOT FORSAKE HIM.
ABDULLAH BADAWI NOT ANWAR IBRAHIM WILL GO DOWN IN MALAYSIAN HISTORY AS BAPA REFORMASI!!!
ANWAR WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE CUNNING AND VENGEFUL STEP BROTHER!
NAJIB? TAK TAU LAH!
IN THESE TRYING TIMES TUN M MUST MAINTAIN HIS DIGNITY!
Interesting observation on TUN SALLEH ABAS, HIS SIL (SHAH HAKIM) & SCOMI.... IN A VOICE'S BLOG..
ReplyDeletedhahran,
ReplyDeleteit is true that Shah Hakim is Tun salleh's son-in-law.
he married tun's youngest daughter years ago before he joined scomi.
i don;t know what Voice is trying to imply. that becos of this connection, Tun is in cahoots with Pak Lah to help save the PM, politically.
i think trying to do that is really going too far. As I have told the Voice, Tun never asked for anything from the govt.
I dont think he had ever thought the day would come that the government would recognise their contribution, much less offer compensation.
if Pak lah is doing it to save himself, that is Pak Lah.
I think it is very unfair and very wrong to suggest that Tun Salleh had anything to do with it just because Shah Hakim is his son-in-law.
Dear Kak,
ReplyDelete"I think it is very unfair and very wrong to suggest that Tun Salleh had anything to do with it just because Shah Hakim is his son-in-law."
I think the damage is done as they say in politics; perception is a powerful tool.
Tun should NOT take the cheap payment, just a simple apology from the govt will do.
and next time, invite all the judges not 2 aje lah.