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What is this ex-gratia goodwill payment? Easy side door way out? The public needs to know the extent of executive trespass onto the judiciary and the acknowledgment that damage was done. And for acknowledging that there is damage done to the 6 judges personally and the public in general, the administration should apologise, not pay ex-gratia goodwill monies. These gentlemen are not beggars but men of fine standing. And they have money. So to pay them is to add insult to injury.

Lim Chong Leong

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is just doing the same thing all over again - making promises and this time about the Judiciary. Remember that 'Police Misconduct Commission" which he said he will implement -- we are still waiting. Ah yes - then there was that statement about moving against corruption, and we had Vincent Tan (an old businessman) and one Senator who was charged -- and what really happened...

So now he says... "... that the Government is proposing the setting up of a Judicial Appointments Commission to identify and recommend candidates for the judiciary to the Prime Minister...", and I say WHEN.....and how. Maybe several years down the road, we will still be wondering about when this would come about..

Then, he said that he "....will initiate a review of the judiciary’s terms of service and remuneration...", and this I believe they have been doing and will do. -- Nothing NEW here.

And then we have the 1988 Judicial Crisis - and there was NO APOLOGY - only that "...In recognition of the contributions of the six outstanding judges, the Government has decided to make goodwill ex gratia payments to them...." Again no mention of any sum... and totally inadequate...

It would have been better if the PM said that these judges (or their living spouses) will be paid pensions from now on , and that they will receive in lump-sum all pension payments that they should have been receiving since their removal until this date. This would have been so much more better - and would amount to an unspoken apology - an unspoken admission that their removal was wrong....BUT NO...

And again, we may have been conned by this "MR CLEAN" PM --- and somehow the results of the General Elections has not conveyed the message to this PM..

And now, when there is call for his removal from within his own party - and also a certain amount of dissatisfaction amongst the component BN parties, to whom he is still showing little respect... (MIC, MCA and GERAKAN have openly called for the HINDRAF 5 but this PM is not even listening to them ...let alone releasing the HINDRAF 5)

Has Badawi changed? NO - he has not. Was not "Makkal Osai'', the Tamil daily with the 2nd highest circulation been banned...

We will not be taken for a RIDE again by this PM, who should be on the way out himself or with that BN government...

In solidarity,

Charles Hector

For a moment there I thought that the Bar's efforts in championing closure to the 1988 Judicial Crisis would see the light of day.
I was filled with quiet optimism that an apology and a vow to repeat this horrible experience would mark the night. There was even an air of festivity, somewhat in a celebratory mood, to mark if you will, the triumph of good over evil.

Alas, me and my misplaced hubris. An acknowledgment of the incident and a sackful of pennies is what the judges got. And to top it all, some food at a fancy hotel was thrown in for good measure. So very typical of the Malaysian way, that we think and believe that money is a super substitute for everything including one's reputation.

I suppose in today's day and age, I should be grateful for every little ray of sunshine that comes my way. Indeed I am and I have now realised that this, is unfortunately, as good as it will get.

Moving on indeed. I suppose in no small way that the consolation prize is that the 5 judges will know that history will judge them favourably as the government has acknowledged that they were wronged but could not muster the scrotal gumption to apologise.

But again, lets be thankful. We now have a Judicial Commission and I hope this Judicial Commission will not be a wash-out as it is as good as the members who preside in it.

Many thanks
Dipendra

ps: I could not help but notice that there was this smartly dressed chap sitting at a corner table eeriely viewing everyone around him with deep suspicion. His Charming looks made him instantly recognisable.

Yet this chap (whom I was told was uninvited) and who is a sitting MP from Negeri Sembilan braved the glare and stares of many a lawyer and civil society member listened intently as the PM spoke digesting every scrap of information that was said.

I wonder if he wondered that whether history would kind on him too and what else must he do to keep the PM in power.

Worse still, he had to deal with a number of invitees who, having recognised him, made their way to him with their calling cards in tow. Maybe there is hope for him or so he must have felt despite allegations of his waning influence.

While it was a given that the Prime Minister's speech was never going to be what everyone hoped it would be and some parts were clearly self serving, the good points of the speech should be acknowledged. All things considered, I think its one of the best speeches Ive ever heard from a Malaysian Prime Minister.

By the way, I would like to suggest that a re-issue of the "Walk for justice" dvd be considered in the new future to include in its epilogue a reference to the promised Judicial Commission with perhaps some appropriate clips from the speech. I would have suggested waiting for the results of the Royal Commission but I confess a preference for films with happy endings.

David Soong Tshon Li

Forgive me but 22 years of totalitarianism and 4 years of absolute toshness have turned me into a frankenstein-ish cynic freak!

The PM is fond of saying the right things, at the right moments and even at the wrong moments at times. "Work with me, and not for me" says he in his maiden speech as a PM in the Parliament. Then it was "we will be fair to everybody".

After that, in moments of pre-election-labour-pains desperation, he said "I am the Prime Minister for all Malaysians". And now, here is the mother of all statements as far as the Bar is concerned, namely, "we will reform the judiciary". May I ask in the first place, what is the PM proposing to reform the judiciary from? Let me put it in another way. What is wrong with the judiciary for which reform is necessary? Do we know? Does the PM know?

- judicial appointment commission
- ex gratia payment to the Judges who were wrongly abused before
- review of salary to attract the best brains to the judicial service

These were the "reforms" that were suggested by the PM in his speech. What are these supposed to cure or treat? Is there a study as to what is wrong with our judiciary? If we - and hence the PM/government - do not have a clue as to the type pf roddens which infest the judiciary all these while, how are we to reform it? How do we know that we are prescribing the correct medicine for the disease?

It is all too easy to come to a dinner and make a speech and say the right things. It was just last year that the PM and his band of comic men declared that there was nothing wrong with the judiciary. Nazri Aziz, that icon of Parliamentarian intellectual, even declared at a seminar organised by the Bar that a judicial appointment commission was not necessary because he had not seen the reason to set it up, yet! And he continued to say that even if it was set up, no human being could be independent as the appointee would always be bias towards his or her appointor! Come to think of it, why would we have Judges at all because no human being could be totally independent. No less than the PM himself said at the time of the "walk for justice" that he sees nothing wrong with the judiciary. When the Linggam tape saga started, it was Nazri and the PM who also initially nonchalantly dismissed it as unauthentic.

And now suddenly, he wants to reform the judiciary. Reform from what? What has so changed in the judiciary in a space of 8 months so much so that a reform is now suddenly and imminently needed?

The answer is not even blowing in the wind. It blows in the face - if not the heart - of the PM, his party and his government. It took 82 opposition seats and 5 opposition states to make him and them realise that the judiciary is an ailing creature, an once beautiful unicorn which now resembles a surreal and very Dali-nesque night creature. And that was why the PM readily embraced the idea of a judicial reform at the dinner. Pragmatism at its best! (or is it worst?).

I did not attend the dinner. As I was convinced that there was not going to be any rainbow in the dark!

Azhar B Azizan @ Harun

I resonate with Azhar's comments and thought it quite sad that everybody in that room seemed only too keen to stand up and clap for this half a trick pony. As Azhar has accurately pointed out, and the PM himself has proved time and time again, he is a man who is all talk (and then forgets what he said the day before) at cake cutting and ribbon slashing ceremonies. His speeches are like the ribbons he cuts - for display and applause. One does not applaud the tenor for clearing his throat, much less give him a standing ovation. It would appear all those who stood up in applause have little ear for an honest melody or a feel for true harmony.

Fahri Azzat

The difference I feel this time is we have Zaid Ibrahim as the de facto law minister, not a half-wit idiot who don't even know Tun Salleh Abbas's name during a press interview.

Even if PM is all talk, I have confidence in Zaid that he will walk the talk.

Many of us aren't happy with BN and what they have come to represent. But let's not be biased before we see the results. I for one am willing to wait for 1 year, the timeline which is given by the PM.

No matter what, let us all support the move to reform the ill battered judiciary and make legal practice honourable once more and that we may practice without fear or favour.

Tan Choon Heong

The Government wants to have a stage show at short notice. Our leaders rushed and pushed all buttons to ensure all are there! Are we civil servants who serve with no questions asked? PM had made it clear that there would not be an apology so what is the purpose of the Bar Council dinner which is SPONSERED by the Government? To offer money when no wrong was admitted looks more an insult to me and we gave PM a standing ovation!

If the Government feels that there was a wrong committed in 1988, it should do the honorable thing by appointing a Commission to inquire whether there had been an abuse of power .We should not forget that two Tribunals at that time made findings and recommendations to the Government which acted on them.

As for the appointment of a Judicial Commission, it could be announced without a dinner! Anyway we do not yet know its details which might prove to be a disappointment. An independent ACA accountable to Parliament would deserve a standing ovation not what was announced at the Bar Council dinner SPONSERED by the Government!

Louis Edward Van Buerle

One small step backward into history for our PM, a big step forward to the future for the nation.

We may not have justice prevail but we have seen affirmative actions taken. For every positive steps taken, lets us encourage and motivate, we may not be satisfy but let us show our support for all the right things that have been done.

It is the least we can do to show support to people who is doing the right thing. If every moves and every actions whether right or wrong were to be critised, would anyone bother to make the change for a better tomorrow?

Although it may be a small thing, but it is always better than nothing.

Tan Chun Ming