opinion Asia has a reputation for doing things backwards, and in the case of Malaysian justice this is well earned.

Rather than respected and honoured, the dishonoured judges are held in contempt by the public, and sometimes described as contemptuous by other, better, judges in their rulings, condemning the contemptuous judges as contemptuous, along with officers of the prosecution who prance before them.

It is a contemptuous situation, and makes the societal position of judges in Malaysia less meritorious than it once was during colonial times.

In criminal matters, the police have a peculiar mode of operation. Instead of the customary investigation, followed by the arrest of a suspect, Malaysian police arrest first, then interrogate the suspect (this passes as 'investigation') at length, and after a period of 60 days or so, announce to the waiting public the charges to be brought.

If no charges can be found or 'invented' during the period of interrogation, they mutter, 'ISA' three times, then transfer the prisoner from a solitary cell to a cell in a communal 'camp' for two years while they attempt to invent a credible story for the outraged public. Surprisingly, it would seem to be an efficient system, reducing court time and costs.

Family and friends, lawyers and bribes have no leverage in this milieu, as the Special Branch of the police, having orders from 'the top,' manage to get the cooperation of the Attorney General's office in the avoidance of any accounting, thus availing themselves of the interminable delay that denies justice. There is a peculiar appetite for opposition figures, journalists and students who object to such high-handed treatment of their friends.

The jury system is also inoperative in Malaysia, these six or seven years. Just about anyone who can take an order will do, and does. Thus the system of justice has been simplified to the more direct political dimension.

Electoral process

And then there is on regular occasions, complaints regarding the electoral processes, generally from losing candidates, and more rarely from losing incumbents. That is because in Malaysia, as in other places, the incumbent rarely loses. In Malaysia, however, the complaint is that the Elections Commission has unfairly shooed the incumbent back in.

These complaints were so well documented in the last general elections that the sore winners had to pass a law requiring the losers in the election to pay all costs if they also lost the court case.

The election in Likas recently was challenged by the loser.

The judge hearing the case, Muhammad Kamil Awang (a smiling pleasant man) told the details of illegal immigrants registered to vote, expensive billboards erected in the dark of night on the eve of election day (across the street from the polling place), numerous other irregularities in the proper conduct of the voting process, and an unwillingness on the part of the party-in-power to make any effort to address the wrongs. He declared the election null and void.

In his judgement he mentioned a phone call, which was later discovered to have come from the Chief Justice, instructing him to close the case without hearing any testimony. This is where the moral courage of the Right Honourable Justice Muhammed Kamil Awang came to the fore. "I will not be a 'yes-man'," he wrote.

He named those culpable and negligent. In spite of this, there have been no indictments, no personnel changes, no calls for improvement. The Attorney General, notified by the judge of the offenses, has not responded by so much as a press conference. The Attorney General appears to have gone into hibernation.

Forceful blow

In the aftermath, a new election is scheduled on July21. The incumbent, found to be implicated along with his party and the electoral commission, has been allowed to run again for the same office.

The same electoral commission officers will conduct the election process. The election is to be held although there is no assurance the electoral rolls have been purged of the illegal and spurious names. It is essentially a repeat of the old election, and the results are predictably the same.

The Right Honourable Muhammad Kamil Awang has retired, having struck a forceful blow for democracy as his last ruling. It is a happy ending.

It is rare for a jurist, at the end of a long career, to have such an opportunity, and given the circumstances, his performance deserves a standing ovation, from his colleagues, the members of the Malaysian bar, the people of Malaysia, and those struggling for universal justice around the world.

To the Right Honourable Justice Muhammad Kamil Awang, we stand hat in hand in homage and admiration, for your learning, and above all for your courage. May you have a long and happy retirement. Your action is an inspiration to all jurists in Malaysia who struggle with conscience. May you be heralded forever.

We do you honour, your Honour.

HARUN RASHID is a scientist avidly interested in the application of Islamic principles in international affairs. The promotion of goodwill through civilisational dialogue motivates his writing. His Worldview column is a personal analysis of Malaysian affairs from a global perspective.