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Heroic former judge Azmi Kamaruddin passes away…

Jan 062009

Former Supreme Court Judge Azmi Kamaruddin passed away last night at the age of 75.

He will forever be remembered for standing up, along with his colleagues, in defence of the Judiciary when its independence was under severe assault in 1988 during the Mahathir administration.

Azmi was one of five Supreme Court Judges – the others were George Seah, Wan Hamzah Mohd Salleh, the late Eusoffe Abdolcadeer and the late Wan Suleiman Pawanteh – who tried to stop the removal of Tun Salleh Abas, who had been suspended as Lord President.

These five shone like a beacon of justice at a time when the judiciary was shrouded in darkness.

Total bill for 1988 judicial crisis: >RM10.5m

Accountability, Democracy, Judiciary 9 Responses »

Nov 062008

RM10.5 million. That’s what it cost to compensate the judges unjustly sacked or dismissed from the judiciary in 1988 under the Mahathir administration.

The breakdown is as follows:

Lord President Tun Salleh Abas – RM5 million

Supreme Court judges:

Wan Suleiman Pawanteh (deceased) – RM2 million
George Seah – RM2 million
Azmi Kamaruddin – RM500,000
Eusoffe Abdoolcadeer (deceased) – RM500,000
Wan Hamzah Mohamed Salleh – RM500,000

These were the five Supreme Court judges who bravely stood up for justice and democracy when the Lord President was suspended (and later dismissed). All five were suspended but Azmi, Eusoffe and Wan Hamzah were later re-instated. It was a devastating blow to the country’s highest court – a blow from which it has not recovered to this day.

“Tak habis-habis dengan cerita ini”

Accountability, Judiciary, M'sian politics 12 Responses »

Jun 122008

Abdullah Badawi doesn’t see the need for a royal commission on the judiciary in the light of Justice Ian Chin’s revelations of Mahathir’s threats to remove judges. Such a commission is badly needed to comprehensively investigate the 1988 judicial crisis and the undermining of judicial independence and integrity since then.

From The Star today:

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this was because the Government had decided to reform the judiciary.

“Tak habis-habis dengan cerita ini (The matter seems to be dragging on). I don’t see a reason for another commission. We are going to implement the reforms,” he told reporters at his office yesterday.

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