View issues with Tan Seng Giaw

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Malaysian judiciary must be truly independent Posted: 11 Jan 2012 12:10 AM PST DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong calls on the Chief Justice Tan Sri Ariffin Zakaria to try his best to show that Malaysian judiciary is truly independent. Malaysia's Merdeka 55years ago was supposed to usher in the indpendence of the judiciary, free from interference of the Executive (the government) and pronuoncing judgement based on the laws promulgated in parliament. On 11.1.2012, Dr Tan comments on the acquittal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from the Sodomy II case on Janauary 9.. Anwar has gone through trials and tribulations.For many years, he has been kept busy in court, first with Sodomy I and then Sodomy II. The world has been watching the Malaysian judiciary. On January 9, 2012, the High Court judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah acquitted Anwar on a charge of sodomising his former personal aide Nohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan . He said , " the court finds that it is not safe to rely on the DNA evidence , so what is left is only SPI's (Mohd Saiful) testimony." There was a reasonable doubt on the evidence. This was so from the beginning of the case. The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has issued a statement from South Africa, saying, "Today's verdict shows once again that the Malaysian judiciary is an independent institution where neither politics nor politicians have any influence over the dispensation of justice." We hope he continues to pursue this concept of judicial independence. For many years, Malaysians have doubts on the independence of Malaysian judiciary, culminating in the sacking of the then Lord President during Tun Mahathir's premiership. The charge against Anwar in Sodomy I and sodomy II cast fruther shadows as exemplified by the carting of mattress in and out of court. One swallow does not make a summer. There are factors including political one that led to the acquittal of Anwar. We urge Tan Sri Ariffin Zakaria to try his utmost to show that the judicairy is truly independent. We hope he can enhance the positive perception of the world at large on the country's judicairy. Tan Seng Giaw

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