Saving PM Abdullah

Hantu Laut

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is moving at the speed of light to save himself by introducing radical reforms never seen before under the UMNO led coalition.With radical changes he hopes to endear the people and the oppositions to him.This sudden change of heart although may be seen as flippant by some people could actually restore Abdullah's lost credibility.

Within a span of one week he has announced three glistering changes.

At the end of last week he feted former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and the other sacked judges at a dinner hosted by the Bar Council where he, short of an apology, announced ex-gratia payment to Tun Salleh Abas and all the judges who had been wrongfully dismissed by the previous administration. He also promised the setting up of a judicial appointment commission but with him still having the last say if he finds the recommedation unacceptable. He was given a standing ovation for the speech he delivered that evening.

Another small surprise announced through his Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar was the granting of permit for PKR's own party's paper.Although not a permit for main stream and full-fledged newspaper it is a good start towards more freedom of expression.Whether his government would give a permit for a full-pledged newspaper to the oppositions is any body's guess. The oppositions should give it a try and see whether his giving more freedom of expression is sincere and extend to a full-blown media for the oppositions.

The most welcome announcement this week is the proposal, which he has accepted in principle, to make the ACA fully independent and report directly to Parliament.It also proposed remodelling of the ACA in ways similar to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong, which is seen as the best in this region.

A Select Committee should be formed in Parliament to oversee and monitor the functions of the ACA. It should also be the watchdog to ensure it is administered judiciously and with the highest integrity. There had been cases of corruption in the ACA before and a vicious watchdog committee is imperative to keep the place squeaky clean. Members of the committee should come from both the ruling party and the oppositions.

Giving away the Anti-Corruption Agency to Parliament is a big sacrifice for the prime minister.Former prime ministers have used this agency to keep party members in line or those who opposed them.As there are not many clean politicians in this country the ACA is a good weapon for the prime minister to keep.As an independent body it can also investigate the prime minister. Well done Pak Lah !

Abdullah is fighting back to show his detractors that he is now beyond the diffidence that they have made of him. He has now re-emerged to show those in his party who had been calling for his exit that he would not be belittled and will not take their ignominious and insolent remarks anymore.If more reforms amiable to the people are coming their way Abdullah may be able to save himself from going into oblivion and carry on as prime minister and business as usual.

The diehards in UMNO will continue to cry foul of Abdullah's reformation and would do every thing possible to hinder or sabotage policies that are likely to curtail their tight grip on power and their access to the gravy train.Those who had burned the bridges are most ardent and will continue with their war cry for him to step down. Hot and hard to handle former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir, a perennial pain in the neck, will intensify his campaign to demolish him. Najib, the prime minister in waiting, may have to wait a little longer if Abdullah succeded in re-establishing himself.

It will be a long and winding road with dangers lurking every where before Abdullah can hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Abdullah biggest problem is still dissatisfaction among BN parliamentarians who can, to show their displeasure, cross over to the oppositions and which can either weaken or bring total collapse of his government.

Although his frog-legged protagonist Jefferey Kitingan denied it is going to be a fishing trip, Anwar Ibrahim is going to Sabah and Sarawak next week hoping to cast his net and catch a few frogs.

The next few months would be crucial for Abdullah to find a formula or the help of a bomoh to keep him in office.

Is It Wrong To Say "I Am Sorry" ?

Hantu Laut

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahamd Badawi was a guest of honour at the Bar Council Dinner on Thursday.Special guests were Tun Salleh Abas, Tan Sri Azmi Kamaruddin and Datuk George Seah.

The late Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdolcadeer and Tan Sri Wan Suleiman (Pawanteh) represented by their respective families: representing Tan Sri Wan Suleiman are Puan Sri Siti Nurhayati and his son Wan Noor Azli; representing Tan Sri Eusoffe are his granddaughter Brenda Lim and her husband.Tan Sri Wan Hamzah (Mohamed Salleh) was unable to attend.

Abdullah fairly lenghty speech among other things offer to compensate the judges for the pain and loss they have endured for wrongs done to them two decades ago and he said "In recognition of the contributions of the six outstanding judges, the government has decided to make goodwill ex gratia payments to them. Gentlemen, I do not presume to equate your contributions, pain and loss with mere currency, but I hope that you can accept this as a heartfelt and sincere gesture to mend what has been".

It was reported earlier that the government will not apologise to the judges for what happened to them 20 years ago. The man who was deemed responsible for the judicial sacrilege refused to apologise stating that he wasn't the one who sacked them. The fact that he orchestrated the whole thing didn't bother him one least bit. The former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is always in a state of denial whenever it suits him.

The sacking of the Lord President and the three judges was consequential of the court declaration of UMNO being an illegal association.The fast and furious Mahathir quickly used his authoritarian power to punish the Lord President. He was furious when the then Lord President wrote to the Agong about interference in the judiciary by the executive. The Agong agreed to appoint a tribunal to look into alleged misconduct of the Lord President.

The tribunals that removed Tun Salleh Abas and the judges that defended him were constituted of fellow judges chosen for their allegiance and compliant to Mahathir. From that day onwards the judiciary with a very compliant new Lord President had been whipped into total obedience and had to look upon the executive as its masters. It's the dawn of a new era for the judiciary .A shameful period of conspiracy, corruptions and unconscionable judgements. The 'Hall Of Justice' became the 'Hall Of Fear'. Those with money can buy justice.

Then there were shameless legal scoundrel like Mr Correct, Correct, Correct who befriended filthy rich merchants to finance and influence the appointment of judges.

The crisis of confidence in the judiciary had gone so bad some foreign companies doing business in Malaysia insisted on their legal disputes to be settled outside Malaysia.

Isn't paying ex-gratia payment or compensation a form of apology ?The Prime Minister and his deputy don't think so.So is the Oxford Dictionary.

The Oxford Dictionary defines 'ex-gratia' as "given or done as a gift or favour, not because there is a legal duty to do it"

"The ex-gratia payment does not tantamount to revisiting whatever that has been decided. It is not to be construed as any form of apology but this is our way of addressing some of the personal considerations and experiences and hardship they have gone through.It should be seen in that light and should not be construed as anything beyond that," said Deputy Prime Minister NajibRazak.

It may not be appropriate to ask Mahathir to apologise now because he believes he was right in what he had done.

Since the present government had taken the bold step to resuscitate the case and pay ex-gratia to the victims, it may be more appropriate for the government to apologise. Would an apology hurt the government more than the harm and shame it had placed on the former Lord President and the three judges ?

The government refused to apologise because of possible legal implications, I am not sure whether they can be sued if there was an official apology, which could be even more costly to the government in term of compensation.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was given a standing ovation for his speech by the very same people who a few months back admonished him for failure to conduct investigation into corruptions and fixing of appointment of judges in the judiciary.

Was it a show of support for him from the legal fraternity or they were only applauding his speech. Let's hope Abdullah don't misconstrue it as a support of his leadership and would jettison his succession plan.

Paying ex-gratia and paying penitence would be more appropriate to vindicate all the victims of the injustice.