Gov't should take up his dare

'Yes, Dr Mahathir should be charged in court for his alleged involvement in a judge-fixing scandal during his rule. No individual is bigger than the nation.'



On Dr M challenges gov't to charge him

Peter Ooi: Dr Mahathir had dared to government to charge him in court. In the same breath, he said that by charging him, it gives him an opportunity to expose conflicts faced by judges including those who have implicated him. I am ashamed that he could stoop to threaten judges. Just a week ago he said that the recording of Lingam's telephone conversation was tantamount to blackmailing. Now, in actual fact, he has shown he is a master at that.

Yes, Dr Mahathir should be charged in court for his alleged involvement in a judge-fixing scandal during his rule. No individual is bigger than the nation. If he had committed a crime, the full force of law must be brought to bear upon him. The interest of the nation should be paramount. If the former president of Peru, Fujimori could be extradited back to Peru to face criminal charges, why can't we, a country far more advanced, do the same?

Similarly, the other five of them should not be left the hook. For far too long, the judiciary of the country had been tainted with corruption and unfair judgements. As a result, the people had suffered directly and indirectly. Those who were directly affected are those litigants given possibly unfair judgements by those judges. One of them that comes to my mind was the late MGG Pillai.

Due to non-confidence in the judiciary, many foreign investors would most probably shy away from us only to invest in neighbouring countries. Jobs that could have been ours simply disappeared.

Now that the commission had recommended action be taken against those mentioned, the government should have no qualms in doing so. This is one opportunity to show that such crimes are not tolerated and our laws are fair to all irrespective of one's position. I dare say that almost the whole nation would be behind the government on this. Do it, don't just say it.

Ramki: For all those anticipating the arrest of Mahathir, let alone him being charged, you are in for a disappointment. The hardcore Mahathir supporters - along with all the cronies - will take to the streets and bring the government to a standstill. It will therefore be an opportune time for Najib to topple Abdullah and seize power.

In another scenario, there is a possibility of the government declaring emergency rule so as to intimidate the people and call for a fresh mandate after six to 12 months. In both these scenarios Abdullah and Anwar are the biggest losers. The best is not to arrest Dr M but to keep digging out all the atrocities and irregularities so as to keep the old man restless till his deathbed.

From A Loyal Malaysian: Dr M is very arrogant and illogical for too long. He should be the first to be investigated by the AG.

Joe Fernandez: The government should take up Mahathir's challenge. Mahathir is ‘guilty’ of a lot of ‘technical’ offences while in office. These includes trying to corner the international tin market, the forex losses by Bank Negara involving the present Second Finance Minister, trying to create as many Malay millionaires as there were Chinese millionaires, ‘by hook or crook’, his still unexplained role in the May 13 incident etc.

He has to account for his actions. He will be in the courts for a very long time facing charge after charges even after Abdullah leaves office and the opposition alliance comes in. However, I would be against putting him behind bars, considering mitigating circumstances like his age and service to the country and the fact that he probably did whatever he did in good faith. He should be given a royal pardon. In the end, it would have been Mahathir's own guilty conscience which would have done him.

Others involved with Mahathir, being much younger and being ‘nobodies’, should be carted off to jail if they are found guilty.

Desmond Wong: Dr Mahathir claimed that lobbying was not a ‘wrongful matter’. As a political animal, Dr Mahathir - during his tenure as the prime minister of Malaysia - had already been given the power to select a chief justice who was supposed to be his ideal choice due to the commonality in political ideology. Why should a prime minister be further influenced by a non- government businessman such as Vincent Tan in the choice of a chief justice? Was it not because of the reason that a businessman would have a lot of financial interests involved in the legal judgements by a chief justice?

Why did Dr M challenge the Attorney-General to do a thorough investigation on him and prosecute him to court? Does Dr Mahathir hold some secret evidence? If Dr Mahathir really has the guts to tell ‘secret stories’, can he disclose to all Malaysians what method did he adopt to persuade Sultan Azlan Shah to sign the constitutional amendments which permitted the Malay Sultans to be prosecuted in the Special Court?

Dr Mahathir was really a man who could do a lot of wonders when he was the prime minister of Malaysia. However, Dr Mahathir owes the Malaysian people an explanation on whether the ways and means he used to achieve his political goals could all be justified morally or even legally. We long to hear from Dr Mahathir on the disclosure of this truth to us.

Munti Dann: This time I must say the cabinet is at least four years too late to charge Tun M in court for whatever was supposedly a sinister and devious judicial conspiracy. The highly respectable title Tun is only awarded to a limited number of civilians by the King. The holders must have served the country extraordinarily well and should possess an irrefutable virtuous character.

If by charging Tun M, the government’s intention is to regain some confidence back from the public, it could run the risk of forcing Tun M into a tight corner. And that will be bad because his retaliation may be so rancorous as to unveil the dirty secrets of many who are still in the government. Is the cabinet absolutely sure that it wants to charge several Tuns all at one go? Think carefully.

Dorai Dubai: The former premier’s brave challenge against the current BN government shows he is adamant and arrogant. I sincerely hope that he and five other would really face the music of misuse of the power and for dumping our judiciary into a ravine from which it is yet to emerge. The current government now needs to analyse the power of a prime minister in appointing a judge.

Silent Saint: The wily old fox is at his bluff again. This time, Mahathir is trying to frighten our flip-flop PM and his bunch of corrupt ministers into backing off from charging him in court. But whatever he may say, the law must take its course and no one is above it. Even if the cabinet fails to act, the people, you and I should apply various forms of pressure until every culprit in the VK Lingam Tape scandal is brought to justice. Mahathir already lost half the battle when he was implicated.

We have to ensure that he is brought to justice so that in future, such corrupt persons will not be allowed to lead the nation. We have become the laughing stock of the international judiciary for the miscarriage of justice in so many landmark cases and the unconstitutional dismissal of high ranking judicial officials. Only stringent punitive action against all involved in the scandal without bias would restore confidence in our judicial system both by our own people and the world at large.

On Royal commission: Act against Dr M, five others

JTB: We welcome the decision of the Cabinet to make the findings of the royal commission public. This is the first step to truly indicate that this government means business in cleaning up the corrupt judiciary. Now that the infamous six have been named, the question now that needs to be answered is this - is the present Attorney-General up to the task to carry out an impartial investigation and prosecute them if necessary? He now has the second bite of the cherry and all Malaysian are now watching him and his office.

The naming of the infamous six is only the beginning. I distinctively recall that there are many personalities involved and who were named in the proceedings. Tirunama Karasu had named a few more judges that he came into contact with. What about the judge who sat and read the decision in the Ayer Molek case, a judgement prepared by VK Lingam?

What about the group of lawyers who tried to tamper with the evidence by persuading Tirunama Karasu to feign insanity and to retract his report to the Anti-Corruption Agency? Are the Bar Council going to ignore this fact or are they waiting for Tirunama Karasu to lodge a complaint before they can act?

To have a clean judicial system, there is also a need to have a clean Bar. Such dishonest and corrupted people both from the Bar and judiciary have to be thrown out. Where the royal commission has stopped, the Bar Council will now have to continue investigations on the lawyers that are named.

Aku Anak Malaysia: Thank god for this good news for the rakyat. Luckily, the opposition is stronger now in the Parliament; otherwise the findings of the Lingam tape inquiry will never have appeared in public view. All the wrongs in Malaysia were mostly perpetrated by YBs and Datuks etc yet they had the audacity to lie and evade the truth. These people who should very well have exemplary behavior; instead, many are in reality scoundrels. By all means , the total weight of the law should levied upon them because they were conversant with the law and but perverted it for their own selfish greed.

Let those who had taken the rakyat for the ride or wrongfully spent/siphoned off the rakyat’s money or misused their power to gag/hurt the rakyat get worried now. It should be payback time soon. The rakyat can see these incorrigible people lying through their teeth. And they are fully aware that even when lying in a court of law, they can get away with their lies.

Om Prakash: At last, the nation is to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The judiciary has a chance to finally cleanse itself and heal. The trial of those mentioned by the royal commission must he done through another royal commission because it cannot and must not be through the current Attorney-General. Only then can this healing process become a victory for the people and the nation.

The Government must abstain itself in this process because current members of the cabinet can still be aligned or obliged to the those mentioned for trial. It’s the people and not the government of the day that has pressured for the royal commission so the newspapers should not be persecuted for printing the commission’s report before the government had its review. We are working for the common good of the nation so let’s not use discriminating political red-tape and the OSA to manipulate the truth for the rakyat.

The PM mentioned there should not be any trial by public protest or otherwise but in reality it is popular public interest that prevails in any political process. At some point, the political process can and must be stalled for rectification in the interest of the very people who elected the government. The government of the day cannot assume absolute mandate - there must be a process to allow for change while still forming the government.

The question is, where is that fine line is to determine when to concede to popular demand? This current government has the good sense to at least be able to concede, mainly due to the wisdom of the PM although his detractors have claimed it is a weak government to subvert the exposure of their past misdeeds. This trial as recommended by the royal commission must be carried out without any fear or favour by an independent body of experts under another royal commission.

On May 13 'a blessing': Mukhriz sick

Kaisim: I am very disturbed to read the statement by Mukhriz by saying May 13 was a ‘blessing’. Malaysians are unfortunate to have such future leaders who welcome tragedies to further their ambitious programmes. They became rich, arrogant and powerful by the so-called NEP which all Malaysians know creates nepotism, cronyism and corruption. For that, we have Umnoputras instead of deserving bumiputeras.

Mukhriz is too young to understand the sufferings of those who survived May 13. Probably he was in goods hand during that time. Hundreds of innocent people were killed for no good reason and just because of their race. Houses and vehicles were burnt and hospitals staff were unable to cope with the heavy duties. The memories of the death and suffering lived on for many years.

May 13 still sends uneasy feelings among the older generation when things are not right in the country. The real answer as to why May 13 happened is being questioned among many Malaysians. Muhkriz is courting big trouble for the country by having this selfish thinking. Good leaders work for the well-being of the nation, not for themselves.