In the midst of the hoo-ha by the previous Chief Justice about improving efficiency of the judicial machinery, a local daily tabloid published a letter from a reader regarding his file that has been 'missing' from the court since 1997.

A new CJ has since been sworn in, and in more determined terms, he has pledged that a more trustworthy legal system is in the offing.

Unfortunately, nobody, not the new CJ, and definitely not even the Bar Council, is prepared to comment on the issue of missing court files. Yet not many in the legal fraternity are prepared to deny that this is indeed a serious long-standing problem.

What is most sickening is that lawyers still charge their clients when they are unable to get the case going when the court claims that "fail mahkamah tidak dapat dikesan".

Is this justice, or should I ask, is there justice? Why is the CJ and the Bar Council silent on this issue? Do they have knowledge of such incidents - and perhaps the reason(s) why documents go missing? Is there a need for a truly independent (anti-corruption?) task force to get to the root of the problem before poor apolitical minority petitioners see the light of justice? Is justice meant for high profile matters only? Do we need a class action suit against the foundation of our legal system for negligence to get the filing system sorted out?

Mr Chief Justice, the silence has been deafening. Please, don't make litigation a blinding experience too. Don't knock the senses out of poor mortal beings while being preoccupied with serving the big names who have only their name to fight for.