|
 •
Ambiga pleads for ISA repeal
•
Malaysian Bar president urges PM to abolish ISA
Welcome address by Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan, President of
the Malaysian Bar at the 21st LawAsia Conference 2008, Kuala Lumpur on 29
October 2008.
Welcome to Malaysia to our foreign delegates, and to all, welcome to
“Challenging Asia”. The Malaysian legal fraternity is honoured to play host once
again to this esteemed gathering of legal luminaries for this pre-eminent law
conference of countries from Asia and the Pacific.
This is indeed a challenging time for us here in Asia and the Pacific. Most
recently, while the US and Europe have come down with a severe case of financial
influenza, countries in Asia and the Pacific appear to have also caught the
virus. Fears of recession in the West have given rise to fears of recession here
in the East. Let me read you the 16th century English poet John Donne’s famous
piece “For whom the bell tolls”:
“No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a
part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as
well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
And now let me paraphrase the piece for this occasion.
“No country is an Island (not even Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the
Pacific Islands, Singapore, Sri Lanka or Taiwan), entire of itself; every
country is a piece of the World, a part of the main; if a bank be nationalised
by the American government, Asia is the less; if a European country be bailed
out by the International Monetary Fund, the Pacific is the less; any country’s
economic suffering affects me, because I am involved in the World; And therefore
never send to know for whom the market opening or closing bell rings; it rings
for you.”
And so the challenge of economic and financial uncertainty which currently
pervades the US and Europe will eventually make its way, if it hasn’t already,
to Asia and the Pacific. And yet there are those in Asia and the Pacific who
would say that the experience of countries like Malaysia has provided the West
with models of possible solutions. The creation of a special purpose vehicle to
buy up bad loans and permit banks and other ailing companies to re-build their
balance sheets is precisely what Malaysia did in 1997 in the aftermath of the
Asian financial crisis. Others have also pointed out that to a certain extent,
the evolution of Islamic Finance, with its strict requirement for an underlying
actual asset or economic transaction, would have avoided at least some of the
major excesses of the current financial crisis. Clearly these are some areas in
which the Malaysian legal profession can share its knowledge and experience, if
not expertise, with the other countries in Asia and the Pacific.
But is it only economic advancement that we should all seek? Does such economic
advancement mean anything to the nation as a whole if the rule of law and human
rights mean little or nothing? Should we, (and it is often the case), allow the
sacrifice of the rule of law at the altar of economic progress?
We know the answers to these questions. So here is our “challenge” in Asia. To
strengthen the economy but to do it on the solid bedrock of the rule of law.
This means governments must keep their citizens safe. Safe from the arbitrary
use of power, safe from arbitrary loss of life and liberty, safe from
environmental disasters, from loss of their property, from loss of their legal
rights and access to justice. To quote Ross Ray Q.C., President of the Law
Council Australia, who so aptly summarised it this way: “Let us be slaves to the
rule of law so that we may be free.”
This means we must evolve. Communism has come and gone, the Cold War has come
and gone, and yet we see in Asia and the Pacific countries still struggling
forward into the 21st century being governed, and yes, restrained and
handicapped, by laws crafted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which are
reflective of the mores of the past. The challenge for Asia and the Pacific in
this regard is to renew and re-energise, to re-tool and re-fit; to mould modern,
progressive societies without forsaking our valuable cultural heritage and
identity; and to liberate itself from dependence on neo-hegemonic mentalities
based on primacy of ethnicity, religion or ideology. From Afghanistan to
Australia, Mongolia to Malaysia, the challenge for us as lawyers is how the
legal fraternity can help re-shape and re-construct the foundations of our
nations and draft a blueprint for the development of strong, vibrant economies
and integrated, compassionate and progressive societies governed with justice,
equity and a sincere and honest respect for the rule of law.
This requires independent and fearless institutions. Economic progress, the rule
of law and our diverse and rich cultural heritage: what a winning formula!
One area that requires immediate reform in Malaysia is in relation to laws that
provide for detention without trial. Other countries have such laws and in a
world gripped by the fear of terrorism, these laws have even been introduced in
the most vibrant of democracies although they receive serious criticisms. But
here is the difference today. More and more people demand the abolition of such
laws because they offend their sense of justice and fair play. We agree
terrorism should be countered but there must be safeguards that protect basic
human rights. Being sensitive to human rights makes us humane. To paraphrase
Robert Burns, it is man's inhumanity to man that makes countless thousands
mourn.
But suddenly it has become permissible, or internationally acceptable, to
detain, or to allow another country to detain, people suspected of links to
terrorism without the need to submit evidence of the alleged connection to be
tested in a court of law. In Malaysia, the Internal Security Act (I.S.A) was
meant to deal with situations which caused “a substantial number of citizens to
fear, organised violence against persons and property” or those who were intent
on procuring “the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of the lawful
Government of Malaysia by law established”. These are words taken from the
preamble to the I.S.A. We question the wisdom of continuing to have such a
repressive piece of legislation on our statute books. One can see how far we
have strayed from the original intent of the I.S.A. that a blogger, a
politician, a journalist and a civil society organiser can, independently of
each other, be seen as threats to national security. Prime Minister, while it
may still be in your means to do so, and as a historic legacy to this nation
that both you and I love, I ask you, on behalf of all right-thinking Malaysians
and on behalf of the legal fraternity of Malaysia, to move to ABOLISH THE I.S.A.!
Countries in Asia must also move away from the concept that might is right. If
the majority said black is white, it does not mean black is white. The truth
would still be the truth. So too with human rights. It is precisely when the
human rights of a few are violated that the government must step in to protect
them. The true test of a mature democracy and responsible government is how the
rights of the minority, the weak and the vulnerable are protected.
In closing, I wish to thank the Honourable Prime Minister for agreeing to
deliver the Keynote address in this Conference despite his busy schedule. We
welcome, Prime Minister, your commitment to the important judicial and other
reforms that you had announced earlier. We fully support your determination to
see these reforms through in the shortest possible time. Such a response by the
Government can only strengthen the rule of law and prepare us for the challenges
that lie ahead.
My grateful thanks and appreciation go to my colleagues Mah Weng Kwai, President
of LAWASIA, and Christopher Leong, Chairman of the Conference Organising
Committee, for advising and overseeing the planning, organisation and execution
of this conference. It would also be remiss of me if I do not record my
appreciation to all those who are members of the organising committee, the
various subcommittees, and the members of the Malaysian Bar’s secretariat who
either volunteered or were roped in to assist with this conference. I would also
like to thank all the speakers, paper presenters and moderators of this
conference for your hard work and efforts.
Ladies and gentlemen, I, like you, look forward to three days of academic
challenge and intellectual stimulation in the midst of earnest friendship and
warm hospitality. “Selamat Datang” and “Selamat Bersidang”. Welcome, and have a
happy conference. Thank you.
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar
29 October 2008
 |
Articles & Judgments 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Circular No 110/2012: Seminar on Introduction to ICC Arbitration: An Insight into the 2012 ICC Rules
