DAP calls for four Royal Commissions of Inquiry to restore justice, integrity and democracy in Malaysia

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Speech
- Penang DAP "Welcome Lim Guan Eng Back with Honour" Ceramah
by Lim Kit Siang 

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The four Royal Commissions of Inquiry should be for the following purposes:
 

• To inquire into the arsenic poisoning of former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the political conspiracy to make use of all the institutions of government to eliminate him politically.
• To inquire into the four police reports lodged by Anwar Ibrahim in the past two months alleging corruption and abuses of power at the highest levels of government leadership, naming in particular the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the first Finance Minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz, the two highest law officers in the land, namely the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah and Datuk Gani Patail, the former Malacca Chief Minister, Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Cik, involving scandals and malpractices like the RM7 billion Perwaja scandal - all supported  by documentary evidence concerning such allegations and abuses of power.
• To resolve the worst crisis of confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law in Malaysian history.  Two days ago, Malaysia made dubious history by becoming the first Commonwealth country in 50 years to send a journalist to jail for contempt of court, which constitute a grave threat to the fundamental right of freedom of speech and a free press. Law and justice have become so divorced in Malaysia that never before in the history of the nation have more Malaysians lost confidence in the judiciary as the dispenser of justice in the country. Malaysia faced its first judicial crisis of confidence in 1988 when the Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas and two Supreme Court judges were sacked when the Prime Minister launched a successful assault on the doctrine of the separation of powers and subverted the rule of law and the principle of the independence of the judiciary. Malaysians had hoped that the crisis of confidence in the judiciary would have been abated with the judiciary regaining  national and international confidence in its independence, but unfortunately, the reverse had occurred.  As a result, the crisis of confidence in the judiciary today is even worse than at the height of the judicial crisis in 1988.
• To inquire specifically into the allegations of gross improprieties concerning the  Chief Justice and a  Court of Appeal judge.    In the Asian Wall Street Journal defamation case two weeks ago, serious allegations about judicial improprieties and injustices  were made in court against the Chief Justice, Tun Eusuff Chin and Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohtar Sidin  in a proposed amendment of the defence. Although the proposed amendment of the defence was rejected on technical grounds, the allegations constitute  grave matters of public interest.  It is most shocking that both Eusuff Chin and Mohtar Sidin had not responded and cleared their name although more than two weeks  had passed.    As the Malaysian judicial system is  facing an even worse crisis of confidence than a decade ago, there must be a full public inquiry into the serious allegations of judicial improprieties and injustices made against Eusuff Chin and Mohtar Sidin. Action should be taken to defend the integrity of the judiciary if there is no basis in the allegations of judicial improprieties and injustices, but both Eusuff Chin and Mohtar Sidin should be dismissed  from their judicial posts if the allegations are proven true. In the meantime, both Eusuff Chin and Mohtar Sidin should step down from their judicial posts pending the outcome of such an inquiry.

(13/9/99)