Kepada Para Hakim Yang Ariff / Some Points For The Judges

It is human nature to make jokes and to make fun of people. Whether it is the Eskimos (Inuits) in the North Pole or the Imam of the Masjid Haram all people make fun of other people at one time or another. There is no need to psychoanalyse this too much. Humour which is usually without malice is actually a camouflage for displeasure or even anger - especially against things that are not right. It is an early warning sign.

Making jokes or making fun about someone or about people is also a signal of social distancing.  Usually you do not hang out with people of whom you make jokes. 

On the other side of the fence, if it is only one person who pokes fun at you, then the fault could lie in that one person. Dont worry about it. But when an entire people make fun of you then that is a problem. Especially if their laughter is justified.

The Mat Sallehs frequently make fun of other people. It is their stock in trade. It is not always caused by their arrogance (although there is plenty of that) but sometimes it is caused by exasperation. They are used to higher standards and are usually more disciplined which makes them feel frustrated when they deal with human beings who are not as organised.  So they poke fun at those people. 

The sad thing is when people constantly become the butt of jokes, other people do not take them seriously. You lose relevance. Kipling labelled the 'Asiatic peoples' as "natures children". Forever immature. Well the Chinese and maybe the Japanese certainly do not fit the category anymore.

Anyway here is a story from India. A young American woman was travelling by train in India. It was a local train somewhere in the rural parts of India (meaning it was just outside town). There were hundreds of people on board the train. While waiting for the train to move she decided to have a coffee at the platform diner. Shortly after two Indian fellows asked to join her for coffee and they struck up a conversation. The conversation dragged and the two Indian fellows ordered teas and snacks which they all shared. After a while the American girl asked when the train would depart. The Indian guys told her the train could start as soon as she finished her coffee. One guy was the train driver and the other fellow was the engineer. 

The story appeared many, many years ago in The Reader's Digest which is a magazine that is read by 70 million people every month. Obviously this humorous story reflects the perception that the 'tidak apa attitude' is the culture in India.  

Then we come to Malaysia. About 10 years ago the Courts were hearing that infamous sodomy case.  The case became quite the mockery because there were so many postponements. There were over 55 postponements (I believe the actual number was slightly higher). All sorts of excuses were given to get the trial postponed. At one point there were floods in Australia and I recall I just made a joke (in this Blog) that even the floods in Australia  would be tendered as an excuse to postpone the trial. 

Lo and behold ! That is exactly what happened. A few days later the lawyers asked the Court to postpone the trial because one of their expert witnesses was from Australia which was suffering the floods. And the Court allowed the postponement. It was not reported if the expert witness was up to his knees in the flood waters or if all the airports in Australia had been submerged. 

That was actually an abuse of the Court process. Like that other fellow using the Covid19 virus as an excuse for not showing up in Court. The wise judge immediately ordered that he undergo a swab test which turned out negative. 

The same type of postponements are rarely or not allowed in other countries. Justice delayed is justice denied. I know that in Singapore the Courts are very disciplined. The correct word is disciplined. Lawyers must be prepared to present their cases when they appear in Court. Floods in Australia or fear of Covid19 are not acceptable excuses to postpone Court cases. And certainly not 'I want to be with my wife' or 'I have to attend the by elections'.

In Malaysia another infamous method to delay Court cases is the "trial within a trial" method. As the case is progressing someone suddenly files a 'I dont like the judge' bla bla bla motion. Or 'I dont like the Prosecutor' bla bla bla motion.  We have seen both these "tricks" in our Courts.  

Then the Court will have to set aside time to "hear" their complaint.  This then leads to that other "trick" - the abuse of the appeals process. If the Court decides 'Naah, the judge is ok' or  'Naah the Prosecutor is ok' they will immediately appeal the Court decision. And if they lose the appeal (at the Appeals Court) they will appeal a 2nd round - to the Federal Court - the highest Court in the land. And this is just for the 'trial within a trial'. To determine if the Judge should hear the case, if the Prosecutor should conduct the prosecution etc. The actual trial has not begun yet. Or has not concluded yet.

In my view in Malaysia our Judges and Courts allow too many of these types of postponements. The people are getting fed up. Granted that the Law and the Court processes legally allow for these "postponements" but n'theless they are delays. Each and every postponement is a delay.

And then finally, when the case proceeds to trial and then concludes (after dont know how long) and the criminals are found guilty - the whole appeals process starts all over again. They will appeal to the Court of Appeal. If again they are found guilty, after that they will appeal to the Federal Court. 

And in the meantime, pending their appeals, our Legal System allows these criminals to post bail and walk around singing karaoke.

Justice delayed is indeed justice denied. 

In my layman's opinion, the postponements of Court cases on the flimsiest of excuses just makes a mockery of the Court process. It also wastes a huge amount of taxpayers funds and delays justice from being served when defendants can squirm and wriggle their way to delay the Court. This must stop.  

The train must leave the railway station on time. If not not only will other people start making fun of us but there are hundreds of passengers waiting for the train to depart. Do not waste other peoples' time.  

The views expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.