LETTER | This is my third article and plea for the much-awaited royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the judiciary to take place as soon as possible. After my last letter, the rakyat was informed that the RCI was forthcoming. We have been waiting patiently since. Is it still forthcoming with the new PN government or has it been conveniently forgotten?

The rakyat has been feeling jittery and at the same time angry with the perceived disparate justice that they have been subjected to during the movement control order (MCO). 

The latest reported case is that of a single mother, B Lisa Christina, who was first sentenced to 30 days jail for defying the MCO. After serving eight days, her jail term was substituted with a RM1,000 fine. She claimed that Indonesian violators were given only half her sentence. 

Of course, compared to these violators, the rakyat cannot accept why the super- VIP daughter and son-in-law only received a fine of RM800 each when they were violating the MCO on purpose. If one cares to read online comments on these cases, one can clearly see that the rakyat’s perception is that the punishments have been meted out based on whether one is from the masses or from the elite grouping. 

Whether these perceptions are right or wrong, I believe the chief justice should give her clarification. The rakyat surely deserves an explanation to these disparate sentences. Otherwise, they cannot be blamed for having negative perceptions of the judiciary. As Lisa said, what happened to her could happen to anyone out there. We hope our chief justice would facilitate this.

We also hope that the much-awaited RCI on the judiciary will take place as soon as possible. In delaying this, it will only reinforce the negative perception of the rakyat.

I have said this and I will say it again - the judiciary is the place where justice and integrity should be exemplary to the whole nation. If we are sincere in tackling our corruption problem in the country, it is of utmost importance that the judges are of impeccable reputation in order to be able to dispense due justice. 

Otherwise, how can we hope to bring corrupt politicians, police, civil servants and others to book?

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