Chief Justice makes a mockery of himself: Justice in Malaysia is independent & color-blind!

The Malaysian judiciary is independent, asserts Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria today.

"I can assure you that we as judges are very independent.

"There is no interference whatsoever from any quarters at all, be it the government or anybody else," he said in a press conference today after opening the biennial four day conference in Penang for subordinate courts judicial officers.

Arifin dismissed the perception that only the government wanted to influence the judiciary. He said those who wanted to influence judges included other parties as well.

"That is why we must conduct ourselves carefully," he said, adding that judges should also limit their socialising which could affect public perception.

Arifin said this is because members of the judiciary should not be seen to be in favour of any group, even the downtrodden.

"Justice is for everybody, irrespective of colour, race and level in society," he stressed.

Arifin addressed the issue of negative public perception against the judiciary saying that it was not all bad. He said it is important that those who sought justice will get it at the end of the day to maintain and improve perception.

"Justice is not a 50 per cent thing, it is not enough for just 70 per cent; justice is 100 per cent," he said.

In his speech earlier, Arifin urged judges to hear cases until the end instead of in instalments. He said doing so will make it easier for judges to produce their written judgements as the evidence is still fresh in their minds.

"If you hear cases in instalments, you can lose track. So conduct continuous trials as much as possible," he said.

Arifin also stressed that judges need to always improve their knowledge and said it could be done via reading.

"It is important to read," he said, "as whatever you read will enrich you."

The Sundaily