The Malaysian Bar - Move to set up panel lauded

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Move to set up panel lauded

Thursday, 13 December 2007 08:12am

©The Star (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: Establishing the Royal Commission of Inquiry is the right move, but many would like the commission to do more than its primary task.

Bar Council president S. Ambiga commended the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office yesterday although “we had hoped for a wide scope of inquiry rather than just the video clip.”

“It is now left to the commissioners to ensure that this inquiry is a meaningful one and that the procedures adopted will encourage and ensure the emergence of the truth,” she said.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz, who is also the de facto Law Minister, said he was “happy with the setting up of the commission.”

Echoing his sentiments was Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye who was part of the three-man independent panel set up by the Government on Sept 25 to look into the case.

“I hope the panel can also play a critical role in helping to make recommendations to the Government to look into restoring the glory of the judiciary,” he said.

Transparency International Malaysia president Tan Sri Ramon V. Navaratnam said the Royal Commission could have been established earlier.

“Nevertheless, this is a wonderful opportunity for the commission to introduce much needed reforms in the judicial system,” he said.

However, there were also some who found the terms of reference of the commission and the list of commissioners disappointing.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the appointment of Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor as the commission chairman was “most disappointing”.

“Haidar, who was former Chief Judge of Malaya, is clearly not acceptable or suitable to be the chairman in view of his disgraceful role in the 1988 Judicial Crisis which saw the unconstitutional sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President.

“In drawing up a very restricted terms of reference, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has missed a golden opportunity to put right what has been wrong with the system of justice for nearly two decades,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president R. Sivarasa, who released the videoclip together with the party’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, also said that the terms of reference was “far too narrow”.

“It is also quite illogical to ask the commission to ascertain the authenticity of the video when the three-man panel had already done so.”

National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said Hakam’s stand was that the commissioners chosen were not appropriate.

“I don’t think the five names proposed are suitable. If you look a bit deeper, you will see that the problem has arisen with a lack of transparency in the appointment process,” he said.