This fractured state does not care who walks for justice

 

"Alhamdulilah, I am thankful for the decision of the SC, which has found that I have not committed any offence.” 

- Azam Baki

It really doesn't matter if the Bar Council holds an EGM to discuss if there should be a walk for justice. It really does not matter if every single member of the Malaysian Bar decided to show up and march on Putrajaya.

It really doesn't matter if Harapan political operatives suddenly feel aggrieved by the attacks on the judiciary. It really does not matter if the online world is outraged by the MACC’s investigations  “...  on Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali (above) after a politically-linked blog posted an allegation claiming he had unexplained wealth”.

I am not being pessimistic or cynical here, but the sight of a couple of hundred lawyers or whoever shows up for this walk is not going to move whichever cabals are conspiring to bring down a sitting Court of Appeal judge.

I understand that this may be politically incorrect to write but the Judiciary has, for decades, been mired in the political machinations of the Executive and at one time or another, prominent opposition political operatives, former Bar Council presidents and activists have shone a spotlight on this inconvenient truth.

These attacks – if you want to call them such – are part of a larger narrative of political malfeasances which have plagued this country for decades. Considering the history of the judiciary, and the machinations of a former prime minister (twice), does anyone really think that we have independent institutions in this country? 

Granted that Pakatan Harapan, when it was in power, was supposed to begin the long hard work of draining the swamp – but then they became part of the swamp.

Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer

Keep in mind what Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer said when Harapan came into power: "The talk among the judicial members was that they were appointed because of the influence of an ex-minister whom they served earlier. I will reserve my right to say further to a royal commission of inquiry (RCI). They all knew it was business as usual and all the fear of tribunalisation had disappeared overnight and now they are looking forward to top positions upon vacancy. To me, I see it as one movement from a kleptocracy regime to another and nothing more."

Here is the truth. Very few people have faith in the integrity of the public institutions of this country. When the EAIC found no evidence in the accusation of a former IGP  Hamid Bador on the existence of a cartel and there were no investigations into his allegations against Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, you should understand that we are in a tin pot territory.

Blunt denials that fool nobody

And this is the point. The state has already given up on providing a fig leaf. Now it is just the blunt denials that fool nobody but the state does not care. The fact that this particular judge is being investigated by the MACC, which has lost credibility, demonstrates that whoever these plotters are, they really do not give a damn about optics.

It has come to the point where this fractured state understands that some people have lost faith in the system and they are banking on the fact that they can still hoodwink the majority using racial or religious propaganda. What we are dealing with here is not the independence of the Judiciary, but rather the unconstrained power of political operatives and their proxies in the state apparatus to act with impunity.

Does anyone really think that a walk by the Bar Council is going to move the needle? The fact that the Bar Council has to hold an EGM to discuss this matter is why this country is going in slow motion into failed statehood.

When you are in a situation like this, all bets are off. Rational Malaysians understand that nothing will come of all these protests by disparate groups. In fact, I have no doubt that this walk, if it ever materialises, will somehow be spun into a racial issue.

In this climate, nobody really knows who is in charge and political power brokers, their lackeys, proxies in the media and the lickspittles in the bureaucracy are manoeuvring themselves to ensure political survival, in case someone emerges as top dog. 

Why do you think the MACC suddenly decides to flex its muscles on the allegations of a blogger? Why is the state security apparatus, which normally has no problem issuing statements and opening up investigations with the slightest provocation, suddenly as quiet as a church mouse?

The court cluster is now spinning a narrative that the fix is in and when we have two former prime ministers accusing each other of political abuse of power and corruption and a sitting prime minister beholden to both, you can bet your last ringgit that everything in Putrajaya revolves around this power struggle.

The only thing that scares these people is a political coalition that has the political will to reform the system.

Unfortunately for Malaysians who desire reform, this merely means that they have nothing to fear. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.