Zahid's remarks are an attack on the judiciary

 

On Sept 23 last year, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was full of praise for the High Court which acquitted him of 40 bribery charges in the foreign visa system trial.

Walking out of the courtroom, he said justice had been served even though he had already been punished beforehand in the court of public opinion.

“From the very first day until the decision, I remained confident that the law and its execution has been scrutinised thoroughly by the judge. Today, we have witnessed that the law has been upheld for the sake of justice and I am grateful,” he told reporters as he left the courthouse.

Since then, he successfully defended his Bagan Datuk seat in the 15th general election; joined Harapan to form a government; and was appointed deputy prime minister.

Fast forward to the Umno general assembly over the past three days. Zahid was previously all praises for the court system when he was cleared but these days, he painted a different picture - demanding former premier Najib Abdul Razak be given “fair justice” - whatever that means.

It was an open and unequivocal accusation that our courts are biased. He is implying that he has no trust in the judicial system, which cleared him of 40 charges only four months ago.

Coming from the deputy prime minister, it is an explicit criticism and condemnation of the judiciary and the judicial process.

Intimidation of the judiciary

In the SRC case, Najib was found guilty by the High Court and two appellate courts - the Court of Appeal (which described him as a “national embarrassment”) and the Federal Court.

Najib and his coterie of lawyers were not prevented from presenting evidence and neither were they denied cross-examination of all witnesses.

The trial judge took all the evidence presented to the court before finding Najib guilty and the higher courts agreed with those findings. So, what is the issue, Zahid? 

Is he telling Umno members (and Najib’s family) that the former prime minister did not get a fair trial? Or can this be viewed as “intimidation” of judges who are hearing his case and the prosecution’s appeal against his acquittal?

Only a week ago, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat highlighted attempts to intimidate or otherwise exert improper pressure on judges presiding over public interest cases in the past year.

Speaking at the launching of the Official Legal Year 2023, she said these attempts are a direct affront to the rule of law and judicial independence.

“They certainly deserve condemnation and indeed many have spoken out against them in strong terms. It is very mischievous for anyone to try to tarnish the image of the courts and bring it into disrepute through unfair, biased, and oftentimes unenlightened criticism, simply because they happen to not like particular decisions,” she added.

Zahid has chosen to attack the judiciary despite that warning and this reeks of arrogance and haughtiness, and the chief justice should take offence against such utterances.

Transgression must not be ignored

Malaysiakini was fined RM500,000 for allowing three posts in the comments section that were deemed to be insulting to the judiciary. Although its editors pleaded that there were checks and balances to prevent such comments, the court held that they were liable.

Zahid has certainly done more damage than the three comments, which were removed immediately, as his statements have been widely reported. Besides, video clips of his speech are widely in circulation.

Zahid cannot be making tributes to the judiciary when the decision is in his favour and make wild accusations when it does not favour him or his buddies.

Undermining the judiciary or any of its officers is a serious offence. It is not acceptable and if steps are not made to put a stop to it, the floodgates will be opened. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com

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