(See correction below)

A former senior judge has lambasted the judiciary for losing public confidence in recent years and hoped that the new man at its helm, chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, will bring back its lost glory.

Shaik Daud Md Ismail, who was a Court of Appeal judge until he retired on Jan 20, said the slide of the judiciary began in 1994.

"All along people were confident that they could get justice in the courts but in the light of certain cases before the courts and certain going-ons in some courts, they realised that the courts have let them down," said Shaik Daud in a Jan 9 speech marking the first sitting of the Federal Court this year.

The speech was reproduced in the latest issue of Infoline , the Malaysian Bar's newsletter.

"It used to be that the tinting of judges' cars was for my security but now I say it is to hide my embarrassment," he added.

He also said that he was told by a prominent lawyer that litigants were very confident of winning "hopeless cases" as long as they were filed in "certain courts".

'Yes men'

He added that when he joined the judicial and legal service in 1963, the judiciary was a "beautiful and well-respected" institution.

He said the judiciary was held in high esteem by locals as well as by foreigners, especially by those from the Commonwealth countries.

He also said that the situation now was that litigants and lawyers were concerned that when they appear in courts, they would be subjected to contempt proceedings for the slightest reasons.

"Some judges think the independence of the judiciary means they can do whatever they like because they have the power and at a stroke of a pen they can send anyone to prison for contempt or other reasons," he said.

"To me, these judges do not understand the actual meaning of the term independence of the judiciary."

Shaik Daud advised his colleagues not to merely be a "yes men" but to be judges.

Judicial rot

Shaik Daud said he was glad the Dzaiddin has indicated that he would stop the rot in the judiciary and look into the possibility of reviewing the system of appointing judges.

He added that although the present system of appointing judges was good, it was riddled with cronyism and favouritism.

He hoped Dzaiddin would be successful in bringing back the glory that the judiciary once had.

"The judiciary must be put back in its right place. It must be respected and held in high esteem by all strata of society, including the executive," he said.

"The independence of the judiciary must never be compromised," he added.

Investors reluctant

Dzaiddin took over from controversial former chief justice Eusoff Chin on Dec 20 and said his first task would be "to put our house in order."

He said that judicial reforms were also needed as foreign firms were reluctant to invest in the country because they no longer trust the courts.

The judiciary has came under strong international criticism in recent years, especially over the handling of the cases against ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim who is currently serving a 15-year jail term for sodomy and corruption.

In April last year, four overseas legal organisations, including the International Bar Association, said in a [#1] report [/#] that there were "well-founded" concerns about Malaysian judicial independence.

Dzaiddin's predecessor Eusoff also faced investigations over a holiday in New Zealand in 1994 with a prominent corporate lawyer, but no action were taken against him after the Attorney- General's chambers said it found no evidence of any misconduct.

Eusoff too denied any wrongdoing over the incident, claiming that he met the lawyer, VK Lingam, in New Zealand by chance and that he had paid for his own holiday.

correction

With regard to our story with the above headline which appeared on Friday, March 23, it has been brought to our attention that Justice Shaik Daud's judicial term has been extended by another six months until July 25 and as such he is still a member of the Malaysian judiciary.