Sincere Apology

The present government has decided to acknowledge injustice to the 1988 Justices during last night's dinner organised by the Malaysian Bar. Many viewed such as a good move towards the right direction, well they may be disappointed with the move. Many view such as the first step towards improving the long suffering judiciary with the recent exposure of the 'correct, correct' lawyer.

What is interesting is the ex Lord President's statement that after 20 years finally he is accorded a moral victory. Tacitly, he implies that the government has committed a gross injustice ironically towards those who are supposed to uphold justice, the Justices themselves. Being arrogant and irresponsible as always, the government declines to a full and straight forward apology to those concerned. A good government should be brave and sincere in telling the people of their mistakes and not just playing around the bush by saying that they have committed something wrong but is unwilling to offer a sincere and clear apology. Maybe, that is what the ex- Lord President was really trying to say.

Looking at the newest installment of hilarious political drama, the government of the day would never say something to that effect if they won convincingly in the recent election. They realised that they aren't strong as before thus they have to concede and retreat few steps but sadly not in the way that the commoner wants. Their political maneuver hopefully will soon backfire as they aren't that sincere.

Mr. Lim Kit Siang in his statement said that the government should apart from the ex Gratia payment should render back all the privileges the Justices have been denied for as long as 20 years when they were disgracefully humiliated in 1988. Indeed, that is the most sensible thing to do apart from a full apology for their sufferings. Without the apology, the thing will never rest and it will continue to haunt the government until the day comes when they finally crumble to earth, Insya Allah.

The former Premier in his usual arrogance said that he was not the one who did all the miserable things instead it was the tribunal which decided to lay off the Justices for being honest to the profession. Oh dear, such statement from such a distinguished persona is really shameful and shallow. Let me say this..HE WAS THE ONE WHO ORDERED THE TRIBUNAL TO CONVENE AND THEREFORE HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOMES, EACH AND EVERY DECISION!

It is simply a situation where and when the subordinates follow to the letter their Superior's order just like the infamous slogan for the Malaysian civil service "Saya yang menurut perintah (Symp). Nobody dared to oppose him because he IS the PRIME MINISTER and anyone who dared to cross him, ISA would be the answer. Remember the 'Operasi Lallang'? Everyone who had the 'luxury' of living during his tenure would surely able to tell the situations they were in.

I am not a fan of Pak Lah or Si Lembik as many called him, but we will have to acknowledge that he opens up a new more transparent and free society. We are able to say something against him and his government not to his face but at least through the Internet. Many may say that that is inevitable as we are now living in a borderless world where information is the power but I beg to differ as the government can do something to block the contents as what China has done frequently or when the Indonesian government decides to block 'Fitna' fro being seen or viewed by their citizens. Remember when Nepal under the embattled King Gyanendra clamped down on the Internet and telecommunication? I wonder what will happen if the former Premier is still the Prime Minister...

A bigger man is one who willingly admits that he has erred and hence the government should readily admit that they have done something which tarnished the dignity of the once highly regarded judiciary and more importantly the honour of fellow beings who had been mutilated as a result of the setting up of the tribunal and its outcomes.

Saying that we need to move on and forget the past is totally unacceptable as what we facing now concerns dignity of fellow human beings and it goes beyond as their family too suffer as a consequence of such act. Are we saying that what happened in Bosnia and Kosovo for instance should just be forgotten? I may be a bit dramatic here but there's no difference with what happened in those countries and what happened to the judges 20 years ago. It is a question of dignity of human beings. If some are opposed to horrible mistreatment of animals don't human deserve better since we are His best creations?

Will you be able to accept when someone slap, kick and torture you to near death and afterwards give you some money without saying sorry for what he's done? If your answer is no therefore the Justices deserve better than ex Gratia payment. If those highly respectable individuals suffered in such way, what will happen to us the mere commoner?

Indeed, such saga is far from reaching a satisfactory conclusion and it is actually just the beginning of a long battle on a more level ground. Like what the former Lord President said, " I finally got my prayer answered and achieve a moral victory which wasn't possible even legally under the previous administration."

"Justice must actually be visible to the eyes"