Without Fear or Favour

Section 42 (1) (a) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 reads "To uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests or that of its members, uninfluenced by fear or favour".

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Last week I received an invitation to the opening ceremony of LawAsia 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, followed by welcome reception at Carcosa.

I always find speeches delivered during opening ceremony of formal occasions are typically boring and 'diplomatic', well that is why I'm not really a big fan of getting myself stuck in this kind of occasion. Lepak2 at mamak is way more interesting as we can freely talk about almost anything from childhood memories to world's revolutionary movement.

Sitting on stage, were our Prime Minister, Madam President Ambiga, Chairman of LawAsia Committee and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, waiting for their turns to deliver their speeches.

Madam President Ambiga started delivering her speech by reciting John Donne’s famous piece “For whom the bell tolls”...

She mentioned about economic uncertainty in the US and in the Europe and somewhere along the line she mentioned about rule of law..interesting! well, I don't know why these words (rule of law) have never failed to get my attention.

It got more interesting when she courageously talked about repressive Internal Security Act which licences detention without trial. It was courageous of her to talk about it openly in the presence of the Prime Minister, tanpa perlu berdolak dalih untuk menjaga hati atau berdiplomatik tidak bertempat which i believe most peope would do just to look good or in a friendlier term "cuba untuk berdiplomasi" which in my understanding "diplomasi tak bertempat" or in a harsher term "penakut dan takut untuk menyatakan kebenaran".

And I quote:

"Prime Minister, while it may still be in your means to do so, and as a historic legacy to this nation that both you and I love, I ask you, on behalf of all right-thinking Malaysians and on behalf of the legal fraternity of Malaysia, to move to ABOLISH THE I.S.A.! "

Right after she finished her speech, it was our Prime Minister's turn to deliver his speech and officiate LawAsia 2008.

I could remember Pak Lah quoting one particular Quranic Verse which happened to be one of my favourite verses of the Quran :

"If you do judge, judge between them justly. God loves the just.(Our'an: 5:42)"

Isn't it ironic? For ISA knows no judge, for ISA denies you the right to be judged.

Sedangkan Tuhan Yang Sempurna itu mengadili hamba-hambanya di Hari Pengadilan.

While I was talking to Cecil at the welcome reception, he introduced me to one gentleman from Australia, he told me that he was proud that the President of the Bar had so much courage to talk about detention without trial laws in the presence of the Prime Minister.

He said back in 2003, when LawAsia was held in Australia, in the midst of strong resistance of repressive anti-terrorism laws which allow detention without trial, he wished he had the courage to expressly declare the resistance openly, in the presence of John Howard, one of the strongest supporters of Bush's war on terror propaganda.

lesson learnt:

Katakan kebenaran walaupun ia sukar.

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
"Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart [by hating it and feeling that it is wrong] – and that is the weakest of faith" (Narrated by Muslim, 49)

Void.void.void.

I guess the highest degree of truth is silence.

I knew it all along, even without words said.

(photo by Seira)

Of Sign

Saturday, 25/10/08-received 2 text messages from two guru (s)--to be present at Putrajaya Police station on Sunday at 11am, for remand hearing. I slept at 2.00 am, with the slightest thought of "may-be-attending" since my on-and- off fever got worse at night.

Sunday 10 am--had a dream that i got robbed at some shopping mall, woken up by a phone call from an unknown number. it was my uni friend from Kelantan, asking me how to do remand proceeding.

as i hung up, looked at the clock, it was 1010.sign from God~~got up, off to Putrajaya. Managed to get into the IPD, the Police made an application for the release of the OYDS. they got released on Police bail. as we were waiting at the lobby, there was this guy in jeans kept on taking shots after shots of our sleepy faces. it was so obvious that this guy was from the Special Branch. seriously?do they have to do that?i dont see the necessity at all. they've got our IC and our particulars..pelik?not anymore. i took out my camera phone, pretended taking his pics, baru adil kan:P

at about 1 as we were walking out of the IPD, we could hear people clapping, waiting patiently for their families to come back home...one of the best kodak moments! ...***reminiscence of Padiappa movie***....

.the end.

rombongan kami diteruskan ke alamanda..makan sushi ramai2...headed to cm to watch a play-new village people and pineapple rice...lepak2 sebelum balik untuk menghadiri majlis kahwin Mira.

Of Here and There

It’s already approaching the end of the month, last night (morning?) I just realized I wanted to go to carrefour to buy some groceries like one month ago, and still fail to do that.

Yesterday I attended the KL Bar Forum on Blogging and Defamation Laws. I planned to hang out with Sash, Far and Akhdiat and catch Fahmi Reza’s new film : Revolusi 48 at the Annex Central Market. Got intercepted by the presence of Amer and Edmund—“come to IPD Putrajaya, they need more lawyers to be there”. “Errr…ok”!

10 people + 1 little girl were arrested for trying to hand over a Deepavali Card and a handwritten letter to the PM..ahh..now it’s an offence to do that, I wonder-under which provision of the law that it constitutes an offence?puzzled?nope, it’s a Bolehland, anything pon boleh!

Called up Sash to cancel our plan and drag her along to IPD Putrajaya. As we got into A’s car, E and me insisted on listening to the radio the moment we saw A was selecting which metal songs to be played...we failed! Norwegian metal band was playing along the journey!menarik, I started asking many questions on that and also on the reality of criminal practice in Malaysia:P

Sherrie, Seira, Roger, Siti, Raj were already there to lend a helping hand.

We waited in front of the police station in drizzling rain. When you are arrested by the police, one of the rights that you’re entitled to is the right to legal representation. Sadly to note that this basic right is only meant to be on paper, time and time again. Nothing unusual I would say.

We were still waiting outside the gate. Planning on our further action which was based on many possibilities. Will these people be remanded? Will they be charged the next morning? One question after another. We waited for nearly 3 hours, in the hope that the 6 year old child would be released. Nothing was forthcoming. The police told the lawyers that they wanted to take down statements from those who were arrested. It had been God knows how many hours those people had been kept in there. God knows what’s taking them so long to take down statements.

It was almost 12 midnight. Every one was starving so we decided to ambush the nearest mamak to find something to eat. We ended up at some food court after being aggressively ‘attacked’ by the employee of two different mamak restaurants in a very weird competition of ‘”who gets the customer first?” . every one was happy and we went back to the police station to find out the latest info on the arrest.

It was 1 in the morning. We decided to go back as there was a clear indication that the arrested people were gonna be brought to Court the next day.

Today- at 1030am--A is waiting in Putrajaya Court for remand proceeding.

May justice prevail.

Standing/ waiting for nearly 4 hours in drizzling rain with dear friends couldn’t feel any better..thanks every one!:) Maju!!

Looking forward to enjoying the weekend—Shahir’s open house, Amnesty International’s open house, Dinner with Japan Legal Aid Association, Mira’s wedding, old friend’s get together, William’s (thanks Ati!), Nad’ open house. Eat and be merry, worry later!:P

Of Discrimination

Got this piece from SK, would like to share it with every one:

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A class of five-year old schoolchildren return to the classroom after
playing in the playground during their break time.

The teacher says to the first child ''Hello Becky, what have you been
doing this Playtime?''

Becky replies ''I have been playing in the sand box.''

''Very good,'' says the teacher ''if you can spell 'sand' on the
blackboard, I will give you a biscuit.''

Becky duly goes and writes 's a n d' on the blackboard.

''Very good,'' says the teacher and gives Becky a biscuit.

The teacher then says,''Freddie, what have you been doing in your
playtime?''

Freddie replies, ''Playing with Becky in the sand box.''

''Very good,'' says the teacher, ''if you can spell 'box' on the
blackboard, I will also give you a biscuit.''

Freddie duly goes and writes 'b o x' on the blackboard.

''Very good,'' says the teacher and gives Freddie a biscuit.

Teacher then says,''Hello Mohammed, have you been playing in the sand
box with Becky and Freddie?''

''No,'' replies Mohammed, ''I wanted to, but they would not let me.
Every time I went near them they started throwing sand at me, calling
me nasty names and asking to see under my jacket in case I had
explosives.''

''Oh dear,'' says the teacher, ''that sounds like blatant racial
discrimination to me -
I'll tell you what, if you can spell out 'blatant racial
discrimination' on the blackboard I will give you a biscuit.''

V for Vendetta

it has been long overdue, I only got the time to watch this movie last night..now I know why my brother in law (who adores art) liked this movie to bits..

V's speech on telly:

"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?

Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be?

War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives.

So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot".

POST RAYA BLUES

I figure it’s not too late to wish Selamat Hari Raya to very one, maafkan salah dan silap.

This blog has been left idle for quite a while, well, this whole raya thing, post raya blues have contributed tremendously to this.

Raya was fun, but it'd be more fun if Kakak and Abang Azlee were around. And surprisingly, I got less irritated by soalan standard "bila nak kawen?".Perhaps people get tired of my standard answer.

I always ask my mom, can't people ask about something else beside marriage? tanya la, perkembangan politik ke, ekonomi ke, alam sekitar ke,isu melamin dalam gula-gula white rabbit ke..and I’m sure if the question is about my perspective on marriage, the discussion is gonna be intriguingly provocative.

[---got so excited to learn that Af is getting married in March!:)]

Well, let's not dwell on that. I guess after almost a week of post raya blues, I started to regain my usual self. I had two meetings last night, one with GMI and the other one with Mentari Project Volunteers..Many ideas have been pouring in, now it's time for realization.

For anti ISA campaign, my comrades and I have been discussing on having an art exhibition/performance on ISA, lotsa things need to be discussed and I seriously have to make time to get things started, sebab semalam dengan tidak semena-mena masa meeting Tuan Syed cakap "Fadiah will be the Project Manager tau"...I’m stuck!but im fine with it:)

Feisal the IT savvy has offered to construct a GMI web portal FOC, when I brought this matter up, every one was happy. It’s good to have people volunteering to help us out.

On Saturday, Mentari Project will be having some sorta career day for year 6 students who just finished their UPSR, and on Sunday we will be having our first open house for the kids, it's a potluck gathering. If you are interested to be part of Mentari Project family, you are most welcome to the event.

Lotsa good news are coming out, will keep every one updated.