Surendran slams "dishonest" Dr M: Umno-BN is the real threat to the courts

I refer to the the statement on 5th January by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir that the peaceful rally planned for 9 January 2012 is a 'threat' to the court and intended to 'influence' the court. Mahathir's statement is dishonest, mischievous and completely baseless. The 901 peaceful rally is meant to express the people's protest against the abuse of public institutions such as the police,

AG's Chambers and judiciary in order to carry out a wide-ranging conspiracy to jail Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and undermine the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition. The rakyat are gathering on 9 January because they can no longer tolerate BN's abuse of state institutions and enforcement bodies for underhand political purposes. The rakyat have every right to gather and express their discontent in accordance with Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceably assemble.

Judge-fixers

It is hypocritical in the extreme for Mahathir to accuse the opposition of threatening the court. During his long tenure as Prime Minister, Mahathir and the BN destroyed the independence of our judiciary, and made our legal system the mockery of the world. In the pre-Mahathir era, our judiciary was fairly respected,despite being widely regarded as conservative and unwilling to assert the supremacy of the Constitution over the executive.

In 1988, for selfish political reasons, Mahathir and the BN launched their now infamous assault on the Supreme Court, unlawfully sacking the Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas and 5 other judges. Malaysia's international reputation was severely damaged, and the judiciary itself became demoralised and compliant.

Long-term meddling and undermining of the judiciary by Mahathir and Umno was dramatically proven with the 2007 exposure of the V. K Lingam tape, which showed a senior lawyer engaged in blatant judge fixing. Lingam himself is closely linked to Mahathir and has represented him. No action has been taken against any of the wrongdoers seen and named in the Lingam tape, despite the formation of a Royal Commission of Enquiry to look into the matter.

What hypocrisy

It is simply laughable to suggest that the Opposition is threatening the courts. It is the Opposition and civil society who have fought long and hard to save the judiciary and restore judicial independence, in the teeth of Umno-BN's obstinate refusal to carry out the necessary reforms.

In the history of independent Malaysia, Mahathir and Umno-BN have been the greatest bane and threat to the integrity and independence of our judiciary. I call upon every Malaysian who loves justice and fairness to join the rakyat's peaceful rally on 9 January 2012.

N Surendran is the vice president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat