Seriously? Is this coming from a man who managed to put opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim through his own legal brilliance? I cringed when I read the article about Umno-linked lawyer Shafee Abdullah planning to cite Ambiga with contempt of court.
In the first place, it is obvious that Ambiga Sreeneevasan, a former Bar Council president, was merely asking the question, “Are the courts BN?”
In
basic English, this is a question. It is not a statement. Ambiga was
merely asking a question, while most of us reading the question believe
we already have the answer. How then could Ambiga be cited for contempt
of court, my dear Shafee (left)?When we were discussing over this article in Malaysiakini, a friend quipped: “Really? Is this contempt, contempt charge coming from a qualified lawyer? Where did he finish his law studies? Is he a junior legal assistant with some firm or what?”
I had to correct his impression. This is a veteran lawyer. He appears to be linked with a number of Umno cases. I told him, too, that I am amused by such caricatures when I see them in our courts and there is no wonder why cartoonist Zunar has a lot to capture on paper.
Since when are questions banned?
I am wondering since when, in a democratic country like ours, have we not been allowed to question the decision of even the highest courts, what more to raise a question as relevant as Ambiga’s: “Are the courts BN?”
Based on the way how Anwar’s Sodomy II case was conducted from Day One to the day when he was sent to prison, everyone has been asking the same question raised by Ambiga.
A former US ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott (right), had even gone all the way to create an open petition to the president of the United States of America, and I quote Malott’s petition statement:“Anwar is a political prisoner. The future of democracy in Malaysia is at stake. Securing Anwar's release from prison must be a top priority in US policy towards Malaysia, to be advanced in every way possible.”
To date, some 51,000 people around the world have attested to that. It is still short of 49,000 signatures in order to reach the 100,000 mark in oder to capture President Barack Obama’s attention.
Therefore, what Ambiga had said in her speech pales by comparison. Anwar’s jail sentence for the next five years was something most people had expected, but for someone to further carry out a character assassination of Anwar or to put a suggestion into the mouth of another person, and citing her for contempt of court, can only happen in one’s wildest imagination.
According to Professor Gurdial Singh Nijhar, Shafee has not conducted himself properly as a legal practitioner. This is something which I believe the Bar Council’s president, Christopher Leong has to pick up to carry out an investigation against Shafee in order to protect the good name of the profession.
Leong should also include this accusation that Shafee had made against Ambiga, which I view as being very serious; if not addressed to quickly, will only damage the reputation of the legal profession in this country. Don’t you think so?
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.
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