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Malaysians concerned with justice will find it revolting as heinous a crime as that perpetrated by the former inspector general of police, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, on Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim had not been accorded the severest form of legal sanction.

Rahim’s assault on Anwar was no ordinary crime committed by an ordinary person. It was a brutal and cowardly attack made upon on a defenceless police detainee. Had Rahim not been restrained by others, the consequences for Anwar could have been deadly.

There is no question that the attack was very cruel in its intention: Why else would Rahim have ordered that Anwar be handcuffed, blindfolded and left unprotected in his cell before the attack was made?

That the top policeman of the country could inflict pain and injury upon a handcuffed and blindfolded former deputy prime minister is a terrible blot on the reputation of the police force and on the system of administration of justice in Malaysia..

As such Malaysians concerned with justice want to know why the authorities, even at this late stage, have not made an example of Rahim and his dastardly act to deter other police personnel from abusing their power.

Malaysians are asking why the powers that be have made a mockery of justice – by arguing, on the one hand, that those who treat suspects cruelly must be severely punished, while acting, on the other hand, to reduce Rahim’s charge so that it does not reflect the severity of his crime.

Rahim’s contemptible conduct should have reflected the wrath of the law. Instead, the sentence passed on Rahim does not commensurate with the gravity of his crime.

Some years ago, a man convicted of stealing a pair of shoes from a mosque, was sentenced to six months imprisonment. Is Rahim’s crime lesser than that other man’s that Rahim gets off with lighter punishment?

In the final analysis, the Malaysian public hold the Attorney General – and those to whom he answers – responsible for this charade. They demand that the Attorney-General fully explain why he has committed a travesty of justice by practically trivialising Rahim’s crime.

Even if the Attorney-General – and those to whom he answers – pretend otherwise, Rahim’s case has become only the latest in a series of judicial episodes that have undermined public confidence in the system of administration of justice.

No pious incantations by the powers that be about their adherence to rule of law can redeem public esteem for the judicial process in our country.

No matter how much the authorities resist public calls for transparency and accountability, only a truly independent investigation carried out by a Royal Commission of Inquiry to examine the cases involving Anwar since his dismissal – and other cases involving the violation of Malaysian citizens’ civil liberties and human rights – can restore prestige and confidence in our system of administration of justice.

P Ramakrishnan
President
15 March 2000