It is not enough that our judges must be seen to be independent, we also need to know that the decision to prosecute or not is made without fear or favour.
IN the wake of the Anwar Ibrahim verdict, there has been much debate on how this proves the independence of our judiciary.
Praise has been lavished on the transformation plan as though it was this plan that improved the judiciary’s freedom.
If this is so, then surely the implication is that before the transformation plan there were problems with the Bench.
However, it would be too much to ask of anyone in the ruling party to admit to this.
After all they have been vehemently denying that there is nothing wrong with our justice system despite damning reports both from home and abroad.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Brickfields police chief has denied ordering his officers to cut off all exits when firing tear gas on protesters at KL Sentral during the Bersih 2.0 rally in July last year.
District OCPD Asst Commissioner Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said his orders were only to disperse protesters at the exit of the KL Sentral underpass while allowing them ample room to retreat from the underpass entrance at the other end, among other exit points.
He said that at no time did he order any officer to box in the protesters in the underpass, claiming that he did not know at the time that there were officers firing tear gas at the other end.
“I only found out that there were shots fired from the other side (of the underpass) at the end of the operation, not at the time of the operation,” he told a public inquiry yesterday on alleged human rights violations by the authorities during the July 9 rally.
Election Commission can now go ahead with the purchase for the next general election
THE final hurdle for indelible ink to be used in the 13th general election was cleared yesterday when the National Fatwa Council ruled the substance to be halal.
The decision was made at a muzakarah (meeting), attended by the council’s 22 members, representatives from the Election Commission and the Chemistry Department, at the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Council chairman Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said the muzakarah arrived at the decision based on the findings of the Chemistry Department.
“The indelible ink, if applied to Muslims, can absorb water and it does not pose any problem for them to perform their ablutions or prayers. The use of the ink will not interfere with a Muslim’s faith.
Andrew Khoo, lawyer and human rights advocate, speaks to BFM on new laws being introduced into 2012, namely the Race Relations Act and the Peaceful Assembly Act.
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Disumbangkan oleh Mazni Ibrahim, Pegawai, berserta gambar oleh Ambran Abu Bakar, Pembantu Tadbir, Majlis Peguam
Pada 19 Okt 2011 (Rabu), Auditorium Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (“DBP”) telah digegarkan oleh peserta-peserta Pertandingan Pidato Peguam. Acara yang julung kali diadakan di antara Majlis Peguam dan DBP, pertandingan pidato ini dianjurkan untuk menyemarakkan lagi Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan yang biasanya berlangsung pada bulan Oktober setiap tahun.
KUALA LUMPUR: The principle of natural justice called for nothing less than an acquittal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in light of the grave concerns over his right to a fair trial, said the Malaysian Bar.
Its president Lim Chee Wee said based on news reports of the trial, the decision was in accordance with the evidence.
Listing the Bar’s concerns, Lim said there had been lack of full disclosure which disadvantaged Anwar in preparing his defence, unreliable DNA evidence, and unusual findings.
He cited the example of the judge making an unprecedented conclusion at the end of the prosecution’s case that the complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan was a truthful and credible witness without the benefit of having heard the defence.
Lim also raised the alleged relationship between Saiful and a member of the prosecution team, which raised questions if he had access to investigation papers.
National Fatwa Council to decide if it’s ‘halal’ for Muslim voters
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Fatwa Council will decide on the use of Election Commission's (EC) new indelible ink today.
In a muzakarah (special meeting) at 10am in Islamic Development Department (Jakim) office in Putrajaya, the council members will be presented with the result of the ink's analysis by EC and Chemistry Department representatives.
National Fatwa Council secretary Datuk Othman Mustapha said the council had recently received the result from Chemistry Department, and would discuss whether the ingredients and usage of the indelible ink are allowed according to Islamic laws.
"We have also invited the EC and Chemistry Department to brief us on the ink's usage and analysis findings to council members before the meeting," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
PUTRAJAYA: The country saw a surge in cyber crimes last year with over 15,000 reports lodged. However, the government has a plan in place to combat the threat.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said a total of 15,218 incidents were reported via the Cyber999 Help Centre, which was an 88 per cent increase compared with 2010 when only 8,095 incidents were reported.
He said a technologically empowered world meant national security could no longer be viewed as an isolated issue.
"Cyber crime is a global phenomenon that affects all net citizens, corporations and governments, which can also cripple the social wellbeing and economic development of our country.
KUALA LUMPUR: The organising committee of Seksualiti Merdeka has filed a judicial review application against the Inspector-General of Police and two others seeking to quash the ban made on Seksualiti Merdeka’s events.
The application was filed at the High Court registry via Messrs Tan Law Practice on Dec 9 last year.
The applicants – Seksualiti Merdeka co-founder Phang Khee Teik, Angela Marianne Kuga Thas, S. Thilaga Socky Pillai, Siti Zabedah Kasim and Md Nor Ismat Selamat – are members of the organising committee of the event.
They named Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar, Dang Wangi deputy OCPD Supt Nor Azman Muhammad Yusuf and the IGP as respondents.
Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual festival celebrating human rights of people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, and promotes the rights of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) community.
2012 Hotel Corporate Rates Attending seminars? Going for a holiday? Click on the link above to check out the list of hotel corporate rates for Members of the Bar, which is updated regularly.
Talk on Intellectual Property Law (10 Feb 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, the talk on “Intellectual Property Law” will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 10 Feb 2012 (Friday). The talk will feature Bahari Yeow Tien Hong. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings (21 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, the seminar on “The Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings”, featuring Sanjeev Kumar Rasiah, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 21 Feb 2012 (Tuesday). Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Conveyancing (24 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar featuring Jeremiah R Gurusamy will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 24 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Mediation Skills Training Course (29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012) Organised by Bar Council, the Mediation Skills Training Course will take place at 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, at Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012 (Wednesday to Sunday). Deadline for registration and payment is 17 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on “Land Fraud: An Australian Perspective” (13 Mar 2012) Organised by IGIL, GSGSG and UUM COLGIS, this free talk featuring Quintin George Rozario of Delta Law, Brisbane, Australia, will take place at 9:00 am, at Dewan Seminar A, Pusat Konvensyen, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, on 13 Mar 2012 (Tuesday). To RSVP, contact Mr Abutt (04-928 4397; abutt@uum.edu.my).
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Circular No 021/2012: Application to State Authority for Consent to Transfer Properties
