Judicial Independence lays path towards Universal Justice

By Onlooker on June 29, 2008 11:17 PM

I am confused by the comment from Kampong Boy that 'personally this (judicial independence) does not benefit the rest of us.'

The case of G.W. Bush vs. Al Gore of the US may sometimes be cited as an irony of American judicial independence. Generally speaking, the judgement of this case is just the result of a simple majority of grand jury making a court decision which reflects the electoral situation of the contemporary American politics. No matter what, this example can be viewed as a few rotten branches dropping from the dead tree which stands in the big jungle. If American judicial independence can be analogous to a big jungle, then I would be happy to appreciate the beauty of this jungle from the whole perspective of a green canopy instead of focusing only on the ugliness of one or two dead trees.

If true judicial independence is allowed to exist in Malaysia, I believe those former ISA detainees of 1987's Op Lallang Arrest would stand a good chance to get even with the federal government and might be granted a favourable court ruling which requires a handsome amount of compensation be paid by the federal government to the former ISA detainees. Only a judiciary system which works independently free of interference or intimidation from the Executive Branch will have the total integrity to allow the former ISA detainees to take the federal government to court for a case of wrongful arrest. As a matter of fact, the happening of ISA arrest in Op Lallang was deemed by many as a plot of Tun Dr. Mahathir in the capacity of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. I hope Tun Dr. Mahathir will spare some of his valuable time to tell us about his side of story of Op Lallang.

I believe that all men are born equal before law. If the federal government has to resort to the bitter way for purpose of restoring peacefulness to the society during a racial tension situation by temporary taking away the personal freedom of the ISA detainees in the name of greater good of the society, then the ISA detainees should also be given the opportunity to redress their grievances by taking the federal government to the court of law for a fair trial in due process of law.

In Malaysia the chances for an ordinary citizen (inclusive of Kampong Boy) to be wrongfully arrested by the police are always there for questioning. When such case of wrongful arrest by police has to happen on anyone of us, the only effective way to take the corrective measure is relying on the independent court of law which comes along with the existence of judicial independence. This is one example of how the judicial independence can benefit the ordinary people of Malaysia.

Let's be firm in taking up the position for defending the time-proven principle of judicial independence whenever we involve ourselves in a poltical movement for reformation, for judicial independence is the only reliable path towards a universal justice.

Onlooker