Abdullah: Mahathir harmed the judiciary

PM: Mahathir harmed the judiciary

07-04-2008
by Kevin Tan
The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday broke his “elegant silence” on his predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and blamed him for the judicial crisis facing Malaysia.

He said the crisis in the judiciary did not start with the current administration but he had to address the issue since the business community did not have a favourable impression of the Malaysian judiciary.

“They don’t want any contract disputes to be brought to the Malaysian courts. They would rather go to Singapore or other countries such as Australia, Switzerland or Hong Kong.”

“They don’t have confidence and it’s bad. I have to do something and the people are hoping for a reform in the judiciary,” Abdullah told a press conference after a closed-door meeting with 1,000 party members at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

He was responding to a question on whether his decision to allow for a royal commission of inquiry into the Datuk VK Lingam video controversy recently had cast his government in a bad light and contributed to the poor performance of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the recent general election.

Indirectly referring to Dr Mahathir, Abdullah said “certain people” had continuously attacked the current administration by implying as if all of the Cabinet ministers were stupid while Abdullah’s son-in-law and Umno Youth deputy president Khairy Jamaluddin was the only clever one.

He also said these people also complained there was no media freedom in Malaysia now but such restrictions also existed under the previous administration.

“During Dr Mahathir’s time, reporters were told to block out stories and photos of (former prime minister) Tun Hussein Onn and not give coverage to certain people. As for Operasi Lalang, who is responsible?” he said.

At the height of Umno leadership struggle in 1987, the Mahathir administration launched Operasi Lalang by arresting over 100 people under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and closing down several newspapers.

Former prime ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Hussein were among those critical of Dr Mahathir.

On whether he would order an investigation against Dr Mahathir, Abdullah said the government would act according to evidence.

“We cannot just close our eyes. If there is evidence, the government, via certain agencies will consider the matter. If necessary, we will investigate,” he said.

In a letter to various newspapers last week, former United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Datuk Param Cumaraswamy called for an investigation into Dr Mahathir’s alleged abuse of power.

Among others, Param provided a transcript of former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Shafee Yahya’s testimony in court, who, among other things, said that he felt disillusioned with Dr Mahathir’s interference with his duty.

Pressed on whether he would open an investigation file into the matter, Abdullah stressed: “I won’t open files. It is not my business to open files on anybody.”

However, he said it was up to ACA or any other agencies to investigate the matter if there was enough evidence.

The prime minister also said he had nothing to do with PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s early release from prison.

“He was released following a court decision. I don’t tell the court to do this or that. Whether other people will do such thing, I don’t know,” he said.

Abdullah was responding to criticism of him releasing Anwar from jail and allowing the former deputy prime minister to be emboldened in his mission to topple Umno from the government.

Not long after Abdullah won a landslide victory in the 2004 general election, Anwar was released from jail after the Federal Court overturned his sodomy conviction in September 2004.

On the other hand, Dr Mahathir is widely perceived to be instrumental in putting Anwar behind bars in 1999.

On whether Dr Mahathir’s constant criticisms of Umno could eventually destroy the party, Abdullah said Dr Mahathir was a strong leader but he abused his strength.

“When we win, he (Dr Mahathir) said the government is too strong and there should be an opposition. It was as if he tolerates the opposition all the time.”

“When the opposition gains ground, I thought he would celebrate but he hentam (whack) us instead. He asked why this happened? Menang banyak tak boleh. Menang sikit pun tak boleh. Jadi, apa yang boleh? (Win a lot cannot, win less cannot, so what can?)”

When asked why he was more vocal against his predecessor now, he said: “I will say what is needed to be said. I will not say what is not required.”

Abdullah said he spoke up to regain the confidence of Umno members in the party and to ensure their support for its leadership.

The prime minister also stressed that he had no problem with his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“He sees himself as the person who will replace me, not an alternative leader, unlike Anwar, who saw himself as an alternative leader to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.”

“Anwar calls himself the leader-in-waiting. He forgets I am the leader today,” he said.