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COMMENT | What happened during 1988 judicial crisis?
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COMMENT | We start from the middle of the saga. Because former lord president of the Supreme Court Salleh Abas fought for the independence of the judiciary, he was tried. You must ask who the tribunal members were: you would be surprised.

Five judges of the Supreme Court ordered a stay of the tribunal. So his lawyers came to deliver it at Parliament, where the tribunal sat. They were barred from the very halls where democracy breathes.

When the court was informed, the judges requested the police to effect the delivery of the order. Grudgingly, the gates opened.

In the end, Salleh was removed, as were the five judges. Their crime? Upholding the rule of law.

Thus unfolded Malaysia’s constitutional tragedy - a darkness so profound, it eclipsed the very soul of judicial independence...


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