Its About Time The Nation Paid Its Debt Of Gratitude To Yang Ariff Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah

Before anyone gets alarmed, the retired High Court judge Dato Syed Ahmad Idid is alive and well. He spends a lot of time in Kedah and in Kuala Lumpur as well. For those of you who cannot recall, first here is his picture:

Here is the story. He is the famous High Court judge who in 1996, wrote a letter exposing what he believed to be corruption and wrong doings among some members of the judiciary. The event caused quite an uproar in the country at that time. Later events, like photographs of judges holidaying with certain lawyers, seemed to corroborate much of what the judge had warned about in that letter.  

Here is an old news report to refreshen your memory :

On July 1, 1996, Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah walked away from his position as a High Court judge. That was the fallout after writing an anonymous letter about corruption and abuse of power in the judiciary. On July 9, then Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, without naming names, said no further action would be taken against the author since the resignation was ‘a strong punishment’

Unfortunately then, as also now, whistleblowers are still frowned upon by the establishment. 

In an article about whistleblowing in the New Straits Times, dated 16th March 2015, YM Tunku Aziz has mentioned Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah.  I have truncated the article.

Whistleblowing: A duty to expose wrongdoings

16 MARCH 2015 

• WHISTLEBLOWING apparently is not everyone’s cup of tea, according to a recent report by Britain’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
• They feared the consequences of being found out that could possibly put their personal safety and livelihood at considerable risk.
• Whistleblowing may be a mug’s game, but to former High Court judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah, it was a sacred duty to expose wrongdoing, even if it meant drawing public attention to brother judges.
• The nation owes a debt of gratitude to this honourable man who, putting aside his bright career prospects and the future of his young family, stood up against corruption in the Palace of Justice.
• Syed Ahmad Idid lived up to his reputation as a principled public servant when he decided to open the can of judicial worms. The judiciary today is all the better for his highly developed sense of duty.

Tunku Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur

Just to digress, many years ago, I "whistle-blowed" about a major corporation in the country, anonymously of course, and through the Net of course.  And it happened twice. The information was given to me.  The expose made the front pages for days on end. I just Googled that expose and it is still posted on the Net.  Some good has come out of that 'pecah tembelang', including legislation.  Sadly that corporation is still in the news for the wrong reasons. 

Coming back to Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, over the years I have come to be acquainted with him. We met through a mutual friend. A calm and collected man who also has a razor wit. 

Dato Syed keeps himself busy. Among other things he is somehow involved with humanitarian and other help to the Moro people - through his own endeavours and networking.

I attended a dinner hosted by him once and there were some Moro people present. If I recall correctly, they were in KL to attend some seminar about the Moro peace process. They seemed to know Dato Syed Idid very well.       

Dato Syed Ahmad Idid has indeed made a huge contribution to the country. But instead of thanking him and showing gratitude the country has ignored him.  This is actually an understatement.  Some restoration is long overdue.  As Tunku Aziz says :

"The nation owes a debt of gratitude to this honourable man who, putting aside his bright career prospects and the future of his young family, stood up against corruption in the Palace of Justice."

I dont know if we can expect much from this government but the Malaysian public should not forget the bravery exhibited and the consequent sacrifice suffered by this very learned judge.