I hate to dampen everybody's enthusiasm about the recent Court of Appeal decision to dismiss the former IGP's appeal on sentence, but the euphoria is a little misplaced, when we understand that it is the office of the Attorney-General (AG), then Mohtar Abdullah, who decided on the particular framing of the charge against the former IGP on the facts as understood by the AG.

Once the charge is made out, the court is not in a position to question the power of the AG to choose the charge, even if another charge (with a heavier sentence) could be made out on the facts of the case.

The courts have lost their power to that of the AG. The courts have also allowed this to happen by its precedents (judicial decisions which bind later cases) coupled with amendments by Parliament adding to the power of the AG over the years.

The state of our criminal justice system, if you can call it that, is pathetic! This was unknown to the public until recently by the political events following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998.

Wake up, Malaysians, to the real issues that we have to overcome for 2004!