In Malaysia, the phrase ‘rendered service to the nation’ appears to take on a different meaning, especially when invoked to justify the pardon of a corrupt politician. Odd, isn't it?
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Blog , English , Home Featured Articles
Are we seeing a dilution of the prosecutorial system in Malaysia?
Although the Federal Constitution has established a sound legal system, the machinations of a small group of people compel us to ask important questions. Is it true that the enforcement of the law is being disrupted by three devices: [1], an attack on the prosecutorial process; [2], an attack on the judiciary; and [3], a modification of the pardon process?
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Phineas T. Barnum was the owner of a very popular circus. He once said, “Any publicity, whether good or bad, is good publicity”. Barnum's point was simple: “Nothing is worse than not being talked about”. You might wonder why I quote the owner of a circus. Do you not think that what is happening in Malaysia is nothing more than a huge circus — one that even Barnum himself would ...
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We should stop dancing around an inevitable admission: Malaysian corruption laws have failed. Enforcement has failed. Look at the Najib Pardon case; or the ‘Lorry Stickers’ fiasco. Corruption has been ‘formalised’. It has thrived, for 68 years, in a ‘parallel' system 'monetised' by those who have power to open doors. Why not force it into the open? Why not decriminalise it? Why not ask for tax relief for bribes paid? ...
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Home Featured Articles , Politics
Could the King – or the Pardons Board – insert an Addendum into a Pardon?
The answer is, No. Why? Since the Najib saga began, the Addendum has been, in Churchill’s words, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. In my opinion, the key reasons are: [1]: Pardons cannot be granted ‘in instalments’. [2]: Accepted rules of constitutional interpretation do not at all point to any 'House Arrest' orders (a new Act of parliament is required for that!); and no precedent exists. [3]: ...
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Blog , Constitutional Law , Government , Politics
Can the Malaysian Pardons Board issue a house arrest order?
If you had only RM10.00, can you spend RM20.00?
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Some say that the power of the King to grant a royal pardon is ‘absolute,’; that ‘no one can question it’. Is this correct?
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