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Allow me to digress. If I am not mistaken the Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Nazri, did say that he is prepared to entertain the proposal to review the appointment and selection process of judges if the proposal comes from judges and/or if there is proof of defects in the existing procedure/process. Well, would this fiasco sufficient for the Honorable Minister to act swiftly now?

Now returning to the main topic. If our call for an independent Royal Commission falls on deaf ears, yet again, what would our next course of action be? Will we institute a disciplinary proceedings against Mr VK Lingam? I wonder why were there no discplinary action initiated against VK Lingam when the photo of him holidaying with the then CJ was made public? Why the Bar Council or the then President of Bar Council did not take appropriate action against Mr. VK Lingam. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Sometime ago, Tun Mahathir called for a setting up of a court to try those perceived to be war criminals. Whilst such court may not have the legal force of law, a guilty verdict may have certain implications in the way history is to be written.

If the government fails to act accordingly this time or our beloved PM is going to say "I don't know", yet again, can we have such "tribunal" to try the CJ and those implicated and hand down the verdict accordingly?

The CJ has said if there are judges found to have committed misconducts, they would be disciplined. I agree with him and now I call on the office of CJ to take the appropriate action or press for the appropriate action to be taken those implicated in this recording. Interesting to note how the CJ is going to discipline himself!!!

Kelvin Ng Sin Huat

The March on the 26th is a splendid immediate response to the judge-fixing revelations. This is first-class leadership. This is the kind of action concerned members expect from the Council and office-bearers.

Now there must be no slackening or compromise until the Council's just demands are met.

Irrespective of consequences, we must carry on the fight until the judiciary is truly saved. The Nation expects this of us.

N. Surendran a/l K. Nagarajan

My dear Madame President

Below are my other thots that have nothing to do with my erstwhile friend, Kadir Jasin of Kedah.

(1) How exactly were the appointments of Judges made at that time and since 1988, and what was the basis?

Your guess is as good as mine. With respect, some of the appointments from 1988 bear scrutiny.

(2) Were appointments determined by outsiders to the process under the Constitution (involving e.g. businessmen or litigants), and how was this allowed?

From the tape, it appears to be so. However, the authenticity of the tape must be determined first. What happens if we are told that the tape is part of a "black operation"? Then we are going into something more sinister than we thought!

(3) Who are the “key players” in the Judiciary referred to in the conversation?

Please refer to comments in (5).

(4) Who were the “soldiers” referred to in the conversation?

In a positive light, the fact that "soldiers" exist means that the good Judges are not doing the what the then Chief Justice wanted. It speaks well for the integrity of these reluctant Judges. I wonder who they are. Or would they want to be The Secret People? See "The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat" by Bob Woodward.

Of course we must remember that Judge who tried to expose the corruption in the judiciary, only to find himself summarily left exposed to the elements of nature today. My heart goes to him and his courage. Some day, Malaysians will find the same courage to honour people like him and the three brave Judges who were made to fall on the sword, including our ailing Dato George Seah.

(5) Who were in the “other camp” referred to in the conversation?

The politics of exclusion that seared Umno in 1987 when in an unprecedented crisis Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Ghafar Baba were challenged by Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah and Dato Seri (as he then was) Musa Hitam appears to have percolated into the judiciary.

Don't you think so? We should return to the principle of inclusiveness where everyone, every Malaysian is included and where their very life is celebrated in the grand tradition of our Founding Father, the good and great Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.

(6) Who were the people who “fought for us”? Who is “us”? Who are “our friends”?

Please refer to comments in (5).

(7) What was the “private arrangement” referred to in the conversation?

This is very puzzling. "Private arrangements" can mean so many things to so many people.

( What was the 110% loyalty referring to?

Note the unhealthy emphasis on loyalty. What is right has been left in the shadows. What is right may be wrong and, worse still, disloyal. Loyalty is everything. Doing what is right, doing the right thing in the right way appear to be irrelevant (sorry for copying the word first made infamous by a famous Judge, or is it the other way around – first made famous by an infamous Judge).

(9) What was the nature of the relationships between the businessman, the lawyers, the politicians and members of the Judiciary?

Any such relationship can only be incestuous because such relationships are not supposed to exist. A good Judge, as Lord Denning rightly said, can be a very lonely man. I prefer the non-sexist term “lonesome person.”

If we return to basic Greek philosophy about the gold, silver and bronze people in the mythical state, they are gold, silver and bronze. Any mixture will result in producing an alloy of indeterminate proportions of metal that must be assayed.

The mixture is no longer like Coca Cola, the real thing. We want the real thing, not the big one they call Pepsi Cola! Go for the real thing. Malaysians deserve the real thing. We are, as I said, a nation of heroes, not a nation of cowards.

Look at the words of our national songs: “Sebelum kita brjaya, jangan harap kami pulang” and “Biar putih tulang, jangan putih mata …” To be perfectly candid, whenever I hear the words of the first song, tears spring forth … especially, when I see the accompanying march of our soldiers.

Can we now restore the principle of inclusiveness in our nation-buiilding efforts? As aat least a six-generation Chinese of Malaysian descent, I find no joy in living a life of being excluded. I know that my tears are as Malaysian as any other Malaysians!

Cheers ... and have a nice weekend or what is left of it.

Stephen Tan Ban Cheng

Just a guess .. have any of the judges appointed appeared in the Federal Court especially Datuk Ramly?

Ravindra P. Nanukuttan

Why don't you ask have any judges recently appointed and from the Bar have ever done a full civil trial be it in the lower court or the High Court?

Answer: none!! I venture to say

K. Balasundaram