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Be ready to boycott judiciary, lawyers told

Wednesday, 31 October 2007 11:54pm

©Malaysiakini (Used by permission)
by Soon Li Tsin

Be ready to boycott judiciary, lawyers told What should lawyers do next if there is no action on the judicial scandal exposed by the ‘Lingam tape’? Put their foot down and be brave enough to walk out of courts, that’s what!

This bold suggestion was made at a special session entitled 'We watched, we walked, we now ... do what?' at the 14th Malaysian Law Conference this afternoon.

The session kicked off with the eight minute video clip being shown on a theatre-size screen.

Scenes of senior lawyer VK Lingam purportedly brokering the appointment of judges and fixing decisions - allegedly with Chief Judge of Malaya (now Chief Justice) Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim - in 2002 were shown to the packed hall.

Lawyer Haris Ibrahim (right) then told the audience that something drastic would have to be done if the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Malaysian Bar president S Ambiga bears no fruit.

"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," he said firmly.

He cited the example of Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who was suspended by president Gen Pervez Musharraf on March 9.

This led to lawyers boycotting the courts, confronting riot police officers, burning pictures of Musharraf and holding nationwide protests. It resulted in the reinstatement of Chaudhry on July 20.

"They brought the administration of justice to a standstill. The judiciary cannot function without the legal profession,” said Haris.

“I can't see anything else than some drastic action by lawyers to say ‘No, we've had enough, we will not take part in it; clean up the system and give us the royal commission or else’.

"If not, I don't see any way else that can help us get out of this quagmire that we find ourselves in now.”

There was a roar of support and loud applause from the audience.

‘Betrayal of trust’

Lawyer Fahri Azzat pointed out that the crux of the video shows how corruption cripples the justice system and the country as a whole.

"Corruption ruins people and brings the Bar down. Why? Because it is a betrayal of trust and you can't trust anybody any more.

"So we are like flies trapped in the web of corruption. There is no institution, no government authority that will or want to help us. They are there to keep us deluded, distracted and denied."

In his emotional speech, he appealed to lawyers to be brave in confronting this fact, and then outlined the ineffectiveness of the PM in dealing with this issue.

"Is the PM going to help us? I don't really think so. He may say nice things about us but I don't know if he remembers them the next week.

"He's not interested in the Bar or the law. He is just interested in officiating events, smiling at cameras warmly, dispensing the most pedantic of homilies. I don't blame him. People do what they do best and this is what he does best," he said with tongue-in-cheek.

He pointed out that the lawyers can expect no help from the judiciary, Parliament, the government, Anti-Corruption Agency, the attorney-general and the police.

"Let's face up to reality. It is because they want to be in power. Anything that works to the benefit of the people means the detraction of power from the elite in power.

"We are on our own. All we have is each other and people who feel the same way. That's all you have. I hope we can look deep in ourselves and say 'enough' because if not, it's over."

During the session, an excerpt from the book 'May Day For Justice' by K Das was read out by his daughter, Jo Kukathas, a director of the Instant Café Theatre.

In it, the author described how court doors and Parliament gates were locked in attempts to deny then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas a fair trial in 1988. He was later sacked.