Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia:
The Malaysian public got a rude jolt yesterday when a suggestion by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the Minister in The Prime Minister’s Department who in reality is in charge of Law Reforms was shot down by none other than Datuk Najib Razak, the Deputy Pr ime Minister.
Datuk Zaid had revealed to the press that he intended to put forward a proposal to the cabinet so that the Government publicly apologised to several former Judges who were formerly disciplined by the Mahathir’s Government. One of those dismissed was a former Chief Judge.
The Minister who is also entrusted with reforming the Judiciary found that his voice was indeed a lonely one. The proposal to set up a commission to evaluate the appointment of Judges was also deferred for discussion at a later date.
At present judges are appointed by the King as advised by the Executive, that is the Prime Minister.
Datuk Zaid who succesfully developed the top Law Firm in Malaysia is known for being independent and outspoken. He was even not chosen to compete in the last General election. However, taking the cue from the results of the election, the Prime Minister picked him as the Minister in Charge of Law and other matters concerned.
Political pundits in and around the Capital city, Kuala Lumpur, noted that the one good thing about the new Law Minister is his persistence. Unwavering and persistent are the two rare qualities in Malaysian Politics.
Most of them prefer to join the bandwagon. Well, who can blame them.
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