Crisis Of Justice Demands Urgency

Perhaps YB Nazri was correct when he observed that there was no judicial crisis. What we are is a crisis of justice that embraces the whole nation. As explained in my post on why the Royal Commission is crucial, if the video is authentic, the implications and ramifications are mind boggling.

A crisis of this nature requires an urgent response. What we have seen however is the complete opposite. There has been no move on the part of the Government to seek that the Chief Justice take a leave of absence. The Investigative Panel is gradually cranking itself up to speed to an end no longer uncertain. In my earlier post, I suggested that there was ambiguity about what determining the authenticity of the tape meant. That has since been cleared up. The chairperson of the Investigating Panel, Tan Sri Haidar is quoted in The Sun today (see 'Probe panel meets tomorrow on damning video-clip') as declaring:

"The meeting will examine how to go about verifying the authenticity of the video (from a technical perspective). Our task is purely confined to that."

What happens after that? Another cabinet meeting, another panel, more time? And what happens in the meanwhile, we pretend that everything is alright? And what if the investigations finally reveal that the concerns of civil society were founded and that justice had been skewed to improper end? Does the Government then expect all of those who are before the Courts now, or who have been before the courts in the period of time in issue, to just shrug and say "let by-gones be by-gones"? There is already talk of litigants going back to court to set aside judgments on the basis of apparent impropriety.

The lack of urgency on the part of the Government is a strong indication of a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the matters at hand. A more sinister interpretation of this attitude suggests that the Government may not be keen on getting to the truth, or to the truth too quickly. Does the Government not see that a tainted judiciary and the possibility of the uncertainty in the administration of justice is potentially destructive to its own interests, to the extent that those interests are separate and independent from the interests of the rakyat, as much as it to those of the rakyat?

And as for YB Nazri, what can be said has been said eloquently by KJ John in his latest comment for Malaysiakini ('Here's the crisis, Prime Minister!'):

"It is said that, in the country of the blind, the one-eyed is king. How true, but before our so-called law minister believes this to be so, let him be forewarned that more than 2,000 lawyers have already marched to say that they can see with both eyes and that they are not color-blind when it comes of issues of justice."

The Government should start taking this seriously. Lawyers talk of flood-gates. There is a tsunami on the way.

MIS

UPDATE: The Investigative Panel has since confirmed that it does not have any power and will be dependent on individuals voluntarily appearing before the Panel to provide evidence. Datuk Shankar is quoted as saying:

"The panel has got no legal power at all. The only authority that it has been given is these terms of reference and then to compile a report and send it to the appointing body. We have no power to administer oaths, to compel witnesses to come to us [...] We have no immunity under the law either."

This echoes a reiteration of the limited mandate of the Panel by Tan Sri Haidar who is quoted as confirming that the mandate is :

"confined to the authenticity of the video clip because we are not going into the merits of whether (there is any) truth of the content. Our terms of reference is to verify the video clip, stop there. After that is up to the government to decide."

(see Malaysiakini 'Haidar: We have no power' and 'Q&A: Don't throw stones at us')