CJ: Lingam tape scandal a thing of the past

Chief Justice Zaki Azmi today said the VK Linggam video scandal that saw a senior lawyer caught on tape brokering the appointment of senior judges was a thing of the past that need not be dwelled upon by the current judiciary.

Speaking at a press conference after addressing law delegates on the issue of the 'Malaysian judiciary: Performance, Achievement and Future Planning', Zaki said it was more important to look towards the future of the judiciary.

 

Asked to comment on whether he was satisfied with the standard of the judiciary given the shadow cast over its reputation by the Lingam tape controversy, Zaki snapped back at the reporter with his own question: "What do you think?"

 

"It is unnecessary for me to comment as it is in the past and we are concentrating on the future," he added.

Zaki had earlier briefed the delegates of what he expects from judges.

The video footage of Lingam, released by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in 2007, was recorded at Lingam's house during a discussion on a legal matter.

The royal commission of inquiry set up to probe the scandal subsequently recommended that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and five others, including Lingam, be investigated under various laws for their covert role in the appointment of judges.

Others on the list were former chief justices Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Eusoff Chin, Umno secretary-general and former minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and business tycoon Vincent Tan.

In October last year, however, the government announced it would not prosecuting any parties on the matter because an official probe into the affair had failed to turn up sufficient evidence or proper testimony.

Avoid long-winded judgments

 

In his speech to the delegates, Zaki said judges will from now on be asked to avoid writing long-winded judgments and instead produce short and precise grounds of judgements to help reduce the backlog of cases.

He also said that it would be sufficient if judges wrote approximately 10 pages of judgment and warned of action against those judges who took a long time to write their judgments.

 

“I find there are many judges wasting a lot of time writing 50 or more pages of judgments. But the real substance may be five percent or less of the entire case, particularly if the case originated from the Magistrate’s and Sessions Court, up to a High Court trial. At the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, we may write at length,” said the former lawyer.

Otherwise, he added, judges should just stick to the relevant facts of the case and do away with writing elaborate judgments.

The New Zealand Supreme Court, he noted, had produced a judgment that was only one-and-a-half pages. American judges are known to have written even shorter judgements.

 

All judges have been directed to clear their written judgments before they take leave, said Zaki adding that by writing shorter judgments, judges could focus on reducing the backlog.

 

He said in his past two years as chief justice, he has reduced the backlog of cases emanating from the subordinate and higher courts.

“This has been done by appointing more High Court judges. From 90 High Court judges, we now have more than 130, with the remainder being mainly judicial commissioners.”

 

“We have also managed to introduce the fast-tracking system which helps dispose cases faster. We have made it a requirement that if a civil case has been filed, it must be disposed off within nine months. In this way, we have managed to reduce the backlog,” he said.

Losing millions of ringgit

 

The chief justice also called for a transformation of the courts’ filing system. He revealed that a judge costs the government RM1 million a year for salary, his secretary's pay, his emoluments and other matters.

 

Questioned by one delegate on whether speed had compromised the ability to dispense justice, Zaki pointed out that there were 15-20 year-old cases that could have been disposed off within months, especially civil cases.

 

"Why is there this delay? It was found that there was one case in Sungai Petani where a Sessions judge in a rape case had been reprimanded for granting more than 52 postponements.

"I am sure the accused person and the bailor, along with the witnesses, are tired," he said.

 

"Justice delayed is to the disadvantage of both parties as it would lead to problems in tracing the witnesses and exhibits lost. All sorts of things can happen," he said.

 

Zaki said the country was losing millions of ringgit as a result of postponements as fees had to be paid for the witnesses.

 

“We are now disposing of two cases a week instead of two cases a month. The judges are working harder for justice,” he said.

 

On another matter, Zaki said businesses were confident in the judiciary and they were satisfied with the quicker disposal of cases.