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Good judges don’t delay decisions, says CJ
PUTRAJAYA: A judge who has difficulty
making a decision as soon as possible is not a
good judge, Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi
said in the Federal Court yesterday.
He said one of the factors in considering the
ability of a good judge is how up-to-date he is
with his grounds of judgment, and trial judges
should make their decisions as early as possible
and thereafter write their grounds of judgment.
“In fact, in cases involving death penalties,
where every conviction will definitely be ap-
pealed against by the convicted person right
up to the apex court, there is no reason why the
trial judges should not write their grounds even
before delivering their decisions,” he said.
He said any delay, whether in commencing
Nizar: Where’s the
written judgment?
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s Perak
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar
Jamaluddin lamented that “PR is forced to
submit an appeal to the Federal Court on the
status of the Perak mentri besar based on the
Court of Appeal’s five-minute oral judgment”.
“The Court of Appeal had made a quick
decision to reverse the High Court’s ruling which
found me to be the legitimate mentri besar. We
will appreciate if the written grounds of judgment
from the Court of Appeal is produced fast.
“The Court of Appeal had promised to
produce the written judgment in seven days
after the hearing on May 22 and my lawyers
had also sent three letters to get the written
judgment so that we can file our appeal.
“Until today, we have not received anything
and we have to submit our application latest
tomorrow as the 30-day deadline for appealing
to the Federal Court expires on Monday.
“How are we going to frame our questions
without the written grounds of judgment? I
have difficulty reading what was in the minds
of the (Court of Appeal) judges when they
gave me a five-minute oral judgment,” he told
reporters in Parliament lobby yesterday.
On accusations that his show of protest
during his swearing-in ceremony as MP on
Monday was an act of hooliganism, Nizar said:
“There are more Barisan Nasional MPs who
acted rowdy, including insulting their female
colleagues.
“I had only chanted hidup rakyat (long live
the people) and bubar DUN (dissolve the state
assembly). Was that an act of hooliganism?”
a case, calling for defence, making the decision
at the end of trial or writing grounds of judg-
ment, may cause injustice.
Zaki made these remarks over the delay of
five years and five months by a High Court judge
to decide to call for the defence of Ghazalee
Kassim and Mohamad Junaidi Hussin, both
unemployed, and Mohd Salleh Yunos, a taxi
driver, who were charged with trafficking 50kg
of cannabis nine years ago.
He said, however, a reasonable time must
be allowed to enable a judge to weigh the
evidence, and check and read the law.
“A decision made in a rush is also not a
good decision lest the judge has not properly
considered the factual and legal issues thor-
Penang
has lost
many of
its talents
pg 7
Policing coastal
waters ... Police
demonstrate the use of
the Watercat M14 boats
at Kuantan yesterday.
Six additional boats
were handed over to the
Marine Operations Force
for crime prevention.
oughly. On the other hand, extreme delay can
be damaging to all concerned, whether to the
prosecution or the defence,” he said.
Zaki said in the case before the court yester-
day, the Court of Appeal, in upholding the three
men’s convictions and death sentences for drug
trafficking, had correctly analysed the grounds of
judgment of the trial judge and rightly concluded
that the delay had not caused injustice to them.
He reminded trial judges that this case was
not to be taken as precedent for an excuse to
take too much time to decide and write their
grounds of judgment.
Zaki, who sat with Federal Court justices
Datuk Hashim Yusoff and Datuk Wira Mohd
Ghazali Mohd Yusoff, then upheld the trio’s
Open balloting system for
waste disposal contracts
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has
agreed on an open balloting system for the ap-
pointment of solid waste disposal contractors
under various local councils.
Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
said yesterday the open system would ensure
more transparency and accountability in the way
contracts are awarded.
“We want contractors who can really do the
job and this open system will ensure that only
companies which are capable get the job.”
He said previously, many of the contractors
and companies that were awarded contracts
were linked to politicians and political parties.
“Our aim is to have a clear and proper
mechanism as we are committed to promoting
accountability and transparency.”
Abdul Khalid said the state would also seek
the help of Transparency International of Malaysia
to implement the open system.
He said the value of the solid waste disposal
contracts is estimated to account for about 30%
Strong support to make SPM English pass a must
» From Front Page
notion that Malaysia practises an exam-ori-
ented system,” Muhyiddin said.
Students and teachers will now have more
time to concentrate on co-curricular activi-
ties that promotes mind development, critical
thinking, spiritual growth and the develop-
ment of human capital, he said, adding that
this was in line with the national education
philosophy and education policies.
Muhyiddin said the six core subjects of
Bahasa Malaysia, English, History, Maths,
Science and Agama/Moral as per the Educa-
tion Act would remain compulsory subjects.
theSun | THURSDAY JUNE 18 2009
convictions and death sentences after ruling
that based on the facts of the case, the delay by
the trial judge in calling them for the defence
had not caused any injustice.
The appeal was dismissed, he said.
Ghazalee, 39, Mohamad Junaidi, 38, and
Mohd Salleh, 38, were jointly charged under
section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act
1952 with trafficking in 50,650gm of cannabis at
the Merlin Inn parking lot on Jalan Tenteram,
Johor Baru, at 11.45am on April 29, 2000.
They took the case to the Federal Court
after the Court of Appeal last year upheld their
convictions and death sentences imposed by
High Court judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail
on Jan 9, 2007. – Bernama
of the total expenditure of local councils.
He said the contracts will be awarded based
on the 24 zones under each local council and each
contractor could receive jobs valued at between
RM20,000 and RM30,000. The contracts will be
awarded within a month after the state executive
council works out the contract details with an
audit committee that will be set up soon.
On another matter, Abdul Khalid said he
wished Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak understood that public interest must take
priority in the water concession issue.
The state is locked in a tussle with the federal
government over the water concession issue.
“We are still having discussions with the
(federal) government and I hope the issue can
be solved fast. We are not making a profit as
claimed by some parties. We are just doing what
is best for the people of Selangor,” he said.
The Selangor government wants to take over
the water assets from four concessionaires and
fulfil its pledge to the people that water tariffs will
be lowered by up to 25% in coming years, whilst
maintaining free first 20 cubic metres of water to
households in the state.
When questioned later about plans to
make English a compulsory pass subject in
the SPM exam, Muhyiddin said: “God willing
we will make a decision on this matter by the
end of the year.
“So far, about 80% of the feedback we
have received support our stand to make it
compulsory for students to pass the English
paper in the SPM exam,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the government will
conduct a comprehensive study and take
into account the concerns of various parties
including on the lack of qualified teachers to
teach English and the plight of rural students
who are usually weak in the subject.