Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Politics
Is the selection of judges transparent?
Is the current method of selecting judges, transparent? Should it be? What can be done to improve it?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Politics
Will Corruption Amnesty Work? [Part-2: Proposals]
This is Part 2 of the article entitled, ‘Will Corruption Amnesty Work?’ You’ll find part 1 here. We saw, in Part-1, how if we sack every corrupt person, we’d lose a substantial number of people in enforcement agencies, local governments, courts, and the Government. This is because corruption in Malaysia is deep-seated. So what? Corruption and State Capture Corruptions infects and emaciates a nation, its institutions and its people. It kills a just and efficient ...
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Home Featured Articles , Politics
Could we eliminate electoral fraud by improving election laws?
Could we eliminate electoral fraud by improving election laws? An election petition is a difficult thing. The law has ring-fenced it with several impenetrable technical rules. Combating electoral corruption under the current, antiquated laws is impossible. After the results of the 13th General elections results were announced on 5 March 2013, I was asked, with a dozen others, to file election petitions for 22 constituencies in Perak. The petitions alleged that the winners ...
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Blog , English , For Lawyers
On the horns of a dilemma – will the Federal Court judges recuse themselves?
An unusual thing happened at the Federal Court on August 6, 2018. There is a history to this. You know it well. It concerns a company called 1MDB and the ex-PM Najib Razak. On March 23, 2016, Mahathir sued the then PM Najib Razak for ‘misfeasance in public office’. The High Court struck out the suit. The judge ruled that a prime minister was not a ‘public officer. The Court of ...
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How is the delivery of Justice to the nation to be eased? Everyone complains. Suppose someone could say something helpful, for once? Would you heed it?
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Blog , English , For Lawyers
What is the difference between ‘evidential burden of proof’ and ‘legal burden of proof’?
At first sight, these two concepts seem identical. They are not. If you wish to make litigation your career, you need a sound understanding of these concepts. It is not that difficult, really.
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What happens when judges, bending like reeds in the wind, carry out the biddings of their political masters? Something extraordinary has to be done. Corrupt judges, past and present, ought to be publicly impeached. Can it be done? How?
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In the last few weeks we have been hearing the phrase ‘the Rule of Law’. It is time to examine this and another related concept, the ‘Separation of Powers’. If we do, we will encourage our nation rulers to work better, work more effectively, and work to produce justice. Rule of Law The concept of Rule of Law is easy to understand. You needn't be a lawyer to know what it is: you can ...
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Dissent means disagreement between judges. In a case comprising, say 3 judges, a dissent occurs when one judge distances himself or herself from the other 2 on grounds of legal principle. A dissent is not without its uses. It may limit the majority decision in some way. Or the dissent may bear a seed of a wonderful legal point waiting to germinate at some future time. A brilliant lawyer will water ...
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The Malaysian Judiciary has languished in darkness for four decades. Have we squandered the golden opportunity to reform it? Are we back to square one? Bringing in new judges won't cut it. Making the courts the more efficient won't help. All that was done: all that did not help. Something else is needed. What should we do to make our Judiciary one of the very ...
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