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INTRODUCTION
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The Government of Malaysia under the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad
appears to be directing a public-relations exercise to convince Malaysians
and the international community that the Malaysian judiciary is independent
and should be able to make its decision freely in the criminal case against
Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. On
October 16, 1998, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Dr Mahathir
Mohamad, is reported to have said in the New Straits Times Newspaper:
"No one should question the independence of the Malaysian judiciary
and its ability to make decisions freely because it has proven that it
is not beholden to the Government."
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It is sad to say that the history of the Malaysian judiciary during the
Mahathir regime is such that no one has ever been successful in the Malaysian
Courts either as the plaintiff or the defendant (in civil suits) or accused
(in a criminal case brought by the State), once Mahathir has branded that
person as his enemy or political rival or nuisance to his grand scheme
of things. This is evident from the following cases. Mahathir and the Mahathir
Government have won all these fights in the Courts.
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Lim Kit Siang's suit against United Engineers Bhd & Dr Mahathir;
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Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's action against UMNO Baru;
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Salleh Abas's fight against dismissal as the Lord President;
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The Non-Governmental Organisations' challenge of the massive Bakun project
in Sarawak on environmental grounds; and
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The Sedition Act and Printing Presses Act charges against Lim Guan Eng.
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On the other hand, a politician who is close to the heart of Dr Mahathir,
Rahim Tamby Chik - the former Chief Minister of Malacca - had criminal
charges for statutory rape against him conveniently withdrawn by the Attorney-
General. In the Lim Guan Eng High Court trial, the then 15 year old girl
involved gave evidence on oath ( at the age of 17+ ) that she had sex with
Rahim.
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For the Malaysian judiciary, a critical watershed is 1988. Before that
the judiciary could be characterised as politically conservative but reasonably
independent. However after the sackings of Tun Salleh Abas as the Lord
President ( the highest judge of the land ) and two senior Supreme Court
judges orchestrated by Mahathir in order to protect his political position,
the Malaysian judiciary's independence from the executive has been severely
compromised. In the nineties, not only was the Malaysian judiciary politically
compliant, corruption amongst the judiciary right up to the top has become
a serious problem.
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manifested its ugly head publicly in cases such as the infamous Ayer Molek
case. Political subservience to the executive by the judiciary was clearly
demonstrated in the Lim Guan Eng case where in an unprecedented way, an
opposition Member of. Parliament, who was perceived as a rising star in
the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) was tried and sentenced to
eighteen months jail under the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and
Publications Act for publicly exposing the case of statutory rape of a
15 year old girl.
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The case against the former Deputy Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim,
is not really a legal fight. It is a political battle in the guise of a
legal battle. The political stakes are high indeed in this case, for Dr
Mahathir and his cronies and family are fighting against the rising discontent
of the Malaysian people, and there is no reason why the Malaysian judiciary,
under the control of Tun Eusoff Chin CJ, should not side with Mahathir.
All this talk by Dr Mahathir that the Malaysian judiciary is independent
and is able to make decisions freely is a propaganda exercise by him to
make the people accept the eventual decision of the Court, which will be
to Anwar's detriment.
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Indeed, it is the view of many in the legal fraternity and members of the
lay public that Anwar will not get a fair trial. He will be convicted in
the criminal court (either at the High Court level or at the appellate
stage). The plan is to get Anwar convicted and jailed as quickly as possible.
This will deprive Anwar of his seat as a Member of Parliament. At the same
time, Mahathir is rid of the man who poses the greatest threat to his political
future.
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The circumstances surrounding the Anwar case clearly indicate to Malaysians
and the world that they should not have any illusion as to the independence
of the Malaysian judiciary and its ability to make decisions freely. Under
no circumstances will the judiciary be independent. Recent events in Malaysian
legal history have proven this. Let us examine these circumstances.
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