Zaki vows to continue with changes, popular or not

Zaki is due to retire in a few months. — File pic

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 15 — “I did what I had to do, although it may be a bitter pill to swallow for some.”

Tun Zaki Azmi said this on the implementation of policies and changes he undertook in the judiciary since taking over as chief justice.

Zaki, who will retire in a few months, said it had been and would continue to be his objective to do good for the judiciary and the public in general.

“Within the next few months and until I retire, I will continue to introduce new policies, popular or not, for so long as I am satisfied and confident that they are for the good of the judiciary and the public generally.

“Sometimes, some would see certain policies as negative but over time, they will change their views when they see the positive results,” he said in his speech at the opening of the Legal Year 2011 event which was held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here today.

Zaki was appointed chief justice to succeed Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamed in 2008.

Since taking over office, he introduced polices and changes to the judiciary. One of them was to exercise strict control over the postponement of court cases which received criticism from a certain group in the legal fraternity.

Various technologies, including video-conferencing, setting up of specialised courts and mediation process were also introduced in the courts.

In his speech, Zaki thanked the judges at every court level, magistrates, registrars and supporting staff for making the Malaysian judiciary a role model among common law countries.

“We in the Malaysian judiciary and the Malaysian legal profession are proud that the progress, by leaps and bounds, in our judiciary and profession has never been seen by any common law country. We have not only done it but did it in such a short period, and we did it the Malaysian way.

“Last year, I delivered my first Malaysian opening legal year speech. Today, I am delivering my second and my last speech for this event. I have only a few months left before I hang my robe.

“I am confident that my successor will continue to improve the Malaysian judiciary, not only in respect of independence but its delivery of justice to the public (as well),” he said.

Zaki also reminded judicial officers that justice should not only be accorded to the accused person but also to the victim, his family, the witnesses and the public at large.

“Just because it is a white-collar crime, it does not mean he should not be sent to prison; in fact, a fine, no matter how heavy it is, may not be a sufficient deterrent in some cases.

He said after all money was nothing to a millionaire but a small fine to a kampung man in Gua Musang might be a sufficient deterrent.

Zaki also called on judicial officers, members of the Bar, prosecutors, enforcement agencies and correctional services to work together to make Malaysia a safer place to live in, as he believed the crime rate in the country, although slightly reduced, was still of concern to the public.

“The public are demanding that criminals be brought to justice early and, once found guilty, to be imposed with the appropriate sentence to deter others from committing similar offences.

“If our ends are to do justice, I believe more needs to be done in the areas of reducing crime in our beloved country. The public is looking to us for justice. Once the public loses confidence in the courts and law enforcement agencies, they may start taking the law in their own hands. We do not want that to happen,” he said.

Zaki described as injustice to let off a person who had committed a crime, or to let him off lightly, or to convict an innocent person. He reminded judges to be more sensitive to such issues.

The chief justice said postponements, particularly in criminal cases, were still a major problem today, adding that it was not unusual to find cases being postponed up to 45 times and still not finalised.

“Not many realise the waste of public funds every time a case did not go on. According to my simple conservative calculation, every day the country loses a few hundreds of thousands of ringgit in terms of wasted journey and loss of income and manpower,” he said.

Zaki also said the judiciary had formulated a policy not to strike out warrants of arrest issued on accused persons absconding from court proceedings so that they would remain fugitives until they surrendered or were caught.

At the opening of the legal year, Zaki launched the judiciary’s Judicial Journal.

Among those present at the event were Bar Council chairman K. Ragunath, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah. — Bernama