Justice is Everybody’s Business.

This week, the headlines in the media were dominated by corruption allegations

against politicians, their children, and senior government officers. Before this

week, a number of government officials, including people related to politics,

were either investigated, arrested, or charged in court for corrupt practices.

I'm sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our authorities should investigate

all levels of government services from top to bottom to weed out corruption.

The Prime Minister should make it very clear that there is no bias or favouritism

in conducting these investigations. There should not be any interference in any

investigations, particularly in the judicial process when a person is charged in

court for corrupt practices. In addition, the government should ensure that the

Attorney General's Chambers do not withdraw charges against any person who

is on trial on corruption charges.

All parties should work to ensure that the independence of our judiciary is

upheld – this means that the judiciary should be allowed to act without fear or

favour in carrying out their duties.

On this note, I believe that it is high time that prosecution duties be separated

from the Attorney General's Chambers and be operated as an independent body

so that the prosecution of all criminal cases will be done according to the law

and proper procedures. There should be no interference and the Prosecution

services should be answerable to Parliament directly for their actions or

inactions. There should certainly not be any instance of withdrawing charges

halfway through a trial of a case. The prosecution team should be made

answerable to the public and Parliament if charges are withdrawn against an

accused. Public funds should not be wasted because charges are withdrawn.

Public prosecutions especially on corruption matters, are shrouded in secrecy

these days – with no explanation given when weeks (and sometimes months) of

investigation and work are sometimes thrown away and charges dropped. This

practice must stop and prosecution teams must be made to answer when charges

are dropped after they have been brought to court.

Similarly, if it involves senior politicians or senior government servants, a

pardon should not be used to escape from serving the sentence imposed by the

court. If a pardon is used as an instrument to avoid serving the sentence ordered

by the court, the public perception of the judiciary and our justice system will

be eroded. These are my personal views, and I'm not taking sides. I believe

public money should not be used for private gains. Civil servants and politicians

should know their obligations to the Constitution, Rukun Negara, and to the

office that they occupy. Public trust should always be upheld to the highest

standard.

We must as a nation stand up and hold firm that we will no longer tolerate

corruption. Justice is everybody’s business.