ADUN SPEAKS | I don’t think Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is a special person who requires immunity from prosecution. He is no different than you and me.

If he has indulged in criminal activities, the law applies to him as well as others, despite the fact that he is a well-known judge - a judge who convicted former prime minister Najib Razak in the SRC trial.

It is not about Nazlan per se but it is about the attacks against the judiciary, sparked by a Facebook post by fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.

In his posting, Raja Petra alleged that Nazlan had unexplained wealth in his bank account.

Nazlan (above) in turn made a police report on the allegations leading to the investigation by the MACC.

It is not that the MACC cannot investigate public officials, it has all the right to do so provided, of course, the anti-graft agency has proved itself as a powerful watchdog of public interests.

If the MACC’s chief commissioner Azam Baki has not been satisfactorily cleared for dabbling in the share market, then the question arises as to the legitimacy of the MACC in investigating the alleged wrongdoings of Nazlan.

If the mercenary fugitive blogger has so much clout to order things in the country, I really wonder about the sanctity of information obtained from his dubious sources.

I wonder about the “deal” with the blogger who has no basic guts to stay in the country to fight a worthy cause but runs away to seek the shelter of a former colonial power.

From his hideout in the UK, he spews venom and lies about those he has been “commissioned” to discredit.

What is the difference between Raja Petra and the other infamous fugitive in the country?

Why are we paying so much attention to this fugitive in the UK apart from the fact that he has links with some disgraced public officials in the country?

‘Bold judge targeted’

The Malaysian Bar Council is jealousy guarding the sanctity of the judiciary. Is anything wrong with this?

Whether Nazlan engaged in criminal activities or not remains to be seen. Let the MACC investigate.

But unfortunately, an efficient and bold judge has been targeted for prosecution.

It is just that his decision on Najib was not to the liking of some powerful figures in the country.

Is it because of the unexplained amount of money in the account of Nazlan or because he was the judge who presided over the corruption trial of Najib resulting in the latter’s conviction?

Najib lost his appeal in the appeals court and the matter has been escalated to the federal court for an ultimate decision.

It is not certain when the decision will be made, but one thing is for sure, there is an attempt to discredit the judge hoping that if such an attempt succeeds, it could influence the federal court’s judgement.

It is a well-orchestrated design by those in Najib’s camp to discredit Nazlan before the federal court decides.

It is not about whether Nazlan has a case to answer, but whether the ongoing MACC investigation will be able to cast sufficient doubts about the integrity and honesty of Nazlan.

If this is done, then there is a good chance that Najib’s lawyers will be able to mount an effective appeal on the grounds that Nazlan was a “crooked” judge.

With the investigation by the MACC, whether Nazlan is convicted or not is not important for those who are bent on freeing Najib at the federal court level.

‘Freeing Bossku’

This investigation by the MACC based on the allegations of the fugitive blogger is about creating doubts about the earlier decision of Nazlan.

Once Nazlan has been sufficiently discredited, there is wishful thinking on the part of Najib’s camp that the federal court decision will be in favour of “Bossku”.

It is not that the judiciary in the country has an excellent reputation, but whatever it had was ruined by the politicians.

The judiciary is making a comeback to reclaim its lost ground.

Whatever its faults in the past, it still remains an institution of justice and freedom even though there is political decay in the country.

The allegations against Nazlan must be seen under the backdrop of clandestine and surreptitious moves by some quarters to prevent Najib from going to jail for his involvement in colossal corruption and shameless misdeeds.

P RAMASAMY is the Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.