Yesterday was a momentous and magical day! I was inspired by the determination,
courage, perseverence and strength of the Members of the Malaysian Bar who were
undeterred by the roadblocks, the heavy presence of intimidating police and the
rain. I would like to share with Members some of the highlights of yesterday
which they may not be aware of.
From the day the Bar Council decided to organise the Walk for Justice, we were
in constant contact with the press secretary of the Deputy Prime Minister who
chaired yesterday's Cabinet meeting and we informed him that the walk would be
peaceful and that we intended to submit the 2 memorandums on the Royal
Commission and the Judicial Appointment Commission. We were told that the DPM is
sympathetic to our concern, did not object to the walk and would organise a
representative to accept the memorandums on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Yesterday morning around 200 Members took the 7 buses from Dataran to go to the
Palace of Justice. The journey was smooth until the road leading into Precinct 1
where we were stopped by a group of policemen who, through the Special Branch
Officers who were at Dataran, knew that these were the 7 buses carrying lawyers
and not sightseeing tourists. Our attempts to persuade them and phone calls to
the press secretary, to allow the buses to continue in its journey did not bear
fruit. We were told by George (the Treasurer) that other entry points were also
blocked. We had no choice but to begin the walk from that spot which is around 6
kilometres to Palace of Justice. When told of this, the Members on the buses did
not hesitate to come down and start walking. The policemen were surprised and
watched us walk past them. There were other Members who were driving in their
cars and they stopped to take on some passengers to continue with the journey.
The hats, fans, bottles of water and banners all came out and we soldiered on,
led by Amer and Edmund.When we met a group of FRU personnel after a few hundred
metres, there was slight anxiety in the air but we were encouraged to continue
walking, which we did and we were not stopped. Members' cars kept on stopping to
carry some of us to the Palace, some of the Members who were carrying the
banners continued walking; such was their determination and strength.
Shortly after we began the walk from the Palace of Justice towards the Prime
Minister's Office, we were informed by the press secretary that the police would
request the Members to stop the Walk and that the appointment is cancelled. We
carried on nonetheless. When 3 policemen wanted to speak to us after 1 kilometre
during the walk, we continued walking past them. When the FRU personnel formed a
line before Dataran Putrajaya, we continue walking and they backed off towards
the main gates of the PM's Office. We were then informed that the appointment is
going ahead.
Yesterday, the Malaysian Bar showed the authorities how we can have a peaceful
walk to express our grave concerns with the state of the Judiciary. Nazri is
dead wrong to say that the Bar is an opposition political party. We oppose
corruption and injustice. We do not oppose the Judiciary, in fact we support the
honest and hardworking members of the Judiciary. We demand investigation into
the state of the Judiciary due to allegations of corruption and the videoclip is
but one incident.
I am proud to be associated with the Malaysian Bar, I am overwhelmed by my
brothers and sisters in the Bar who walked fearlessly, I salute you. We will
keep on walking if need be, and continue to knock on the doors until they open
to truth and justice.
Proud to have participated written by Lim Sey Wee,
Thursday, September 27 2007 06:36 pm
In fact many of us walked from POJ to PM's Office and back to POJ where we parked our cars. We walked 7 km, the way back to POJ in the rain. I'm proud to have participated in the walk. I was the only one from Muar as I didn't meet any others from Muar.
Lim Sey Wee
... written by Kelvin Ng Sin Huat,
Thursday, September 27 2007 10:08 pm
If the DPM did not object to our walk, why is Nazri objecting? Perhaps, Nazri now believes that he is also the Minister of the DPM! It is unbecoming for Nazri to object to and oppose the cause when the DPM has no objection to the same. I thought he couldn't comprehend the concept of Separation of Powers but now he appears to have difficulty understanding the notion of collective responsibility of the cabinet. He is acting like an opposition member (although I think that would be an unfair statement to the opposition members/parties).
We have been told that there are two camps in the judiciary but now it appears that even in the cabinet, there are different camps. The DPM being sympathetic to our cause and the de facto Minister of Law commented that our Walk was "unbecoming". The office of DPM organised a representative to collect the Memorandums on behalf of the PM and the de facto Law Minister "shot down the Bar Council's Memorandum". I call on the office of the DPM to issue a statement to clarify the inconsistencies displayed by the de facto law Minister and as to why the De facto Minister seems to act like an "Opposition Member"! If the de facto law minister cannot toe the line with his colleagues or his superior in the Cabinet, then the Honorable Minster should do the honorable thing - RESIGN!
Secondly, can the de facto law Minister shoot down the Memorandums when the Memorandums were presented to his Boss? His Boss, the PM not CJ ya, has not even read the Memorandums and he has the audacity to shoot it down! The de facto law Minister shot down the Memorandums even before he has the opportunity to read the contents unless he has read it even before the PM does. Wouldn't that be considered a misconduct? I think that the de facto law Minister now owes the PM, DPM and us an explanation unless the de factor law Minister now feels he is also the Minister to the Prime Minister!!!
Thirdly, if DPM has no objection to our walk, why did the Police blocked and prevented the busses from ferrying our fellow lawyers to the POJ, why did the Police request us to stop the Walk and informed us that the appointment was cancelled and why was it necessary for the police helicopter to hover above us?
I would like to know on whose instructions the Police was acting upon. These actions by the Police would tarnished the reputation and the integrity of the DPM's office as the Bar Council was given the assurance that the DPM's does not object to our Walk. The DPM's office should and must give and issue an explanation. Is the Police ignoring the office of DPM?
Kelvin Ng Sin Huat
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In fact many of us walked from POJ to PM's Office and back to POJ where we parked our cars. We walked 7 km, the way back to POJ in the rain. I'm proud to have participated in the walk. I was the only one from Muar as I didn't meet any others from Muar.
Lim Sey Wee