Monday, April 21, 2008

Abdullah Badawi, Salleh ,Zaid, judges and lawyers.











minaq jinggo

BERITADARIGUNUNG:

Grand Ballroom, JW Marriot Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Special dinner hosted by the Malaysian Bar Council and sponsored by the Malaysian Government. Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi delivered a special address entitled “Delivering Justice, Renewing Trust“.

UPDATES: FROM ROCKY BRU

"We were NOT invited," say Judges.
It hit me while the PM was reading out his speech on renewing trust in the judiciary last Thursday: Where were the Judges?

Only two of the "Big Four" were there, both at the main table - the CJ and the President of the Courts of Appeal.

500 or more guests in the hall - including KJ and 4th Floor boy Zaki - and none of our judges were there.

How come?

I learnt over the weekend that the judges were NOT invited to the dinner hosted by the Bar Council and paid for by the Government.

The Judges are furious. They were only told about the proposed Commission the week before the dinner, towards the end of the Conference of Judges in KL.

"Zaid Ibrahim, the de facto Law Minister, attended our Conference. You'd think he would have the courtesy of telling us Judges about the JAC and the dinner," one Judge told me.

Another Judge wondered about "hidden agenda".

"We were told it'd be an 11-member Commission based on a 4:5:2 composition: the big four judges, five from the Bar Council, and two others.

"Five from the Bar? And they didn't think Judges should be consulted on the proposed reforms of the Judiciary or the formation of the Comission? What's happening here?"

Zaid will have some explaining to do. If not, the PM could well be on the way to creating a new crisis in the judiciary instead of renewing the trust in the system.