Didn't I tell you so?

In my post- the demise of Malaysian judiciary last month on this blog, I have predicted DS Abdullah Badawi's move of appointing Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi as the Court of Appeal President.And much to my delight, I was absolutely correct.Wow, how euphoric I felt upon hearing the news! The announcement of the appointment was made on 5th December by Abdullah, who finally made a good damage control of the judiciary mess by appointing Tan Sri Hamid as the new CJ replacing Tun Ahmad Fairuz, who's contract was not renewed amidst the Lingamgate controversy and call of incompetence while in office.Well, it seems I have managed to read the premier's mind, didn't I? It is just basic understanding of politics darling! A generic Malaysian trademark is that we forget things all to easily. This goes for all Malaysians in general, not just the Malays. It is a unifying sentiment to an extent, "Orang Malaysia mudah lupa."(perhaps Tun Dr. Mahathir should pen a poem based on this title while recovering from his heart bypass!) Why am I claiming so? Well being a proud Malaysian, an a staunch supporter of the Barisan Nasional government ("staunch", not die hard and I have reasons for supporting the government, although I might not agree with all its policies, most of them are sound! and i don't believe in the infallibility of leaders!), it is easy to see why.

The government understands the Malaysian public all too well. After all, the current government has been in power for five decades, they could anticipate Malaysian people's reaction to every problem to say the least. One thing the government knows for certain is that Malaysians in general are temperamental. We condemn rapists when we read the news of increasing rapes, we hurl the minister when toll charges rise,we were angry at MAS management team for making losses and now are still angry at them for not making more profit, we curse at an old Datsun 120y on the highway when it is riding too slow, in short, we get easily upset! It is true to suggest that we are emotional people, aren't we? Moreover, we are also very opinionated, privately but not so publicly, until recent weeks that is. We should be in the top three nations that has everything to say about everything, which makes Malaysian such a great nation! It is what I would call a "healthy Asian democracy." Enough about the greatness of our overactive minds, another defining feature of Malaysianness is what anthropolgists have labelled "momentary temper" or sociologists scientifically claimed "periodic sensual response." This feature is the one manipulated mostly by the government!Well, Gordon Brown would be in wonderland if and only if the British public had this feature! All the prime ministers who have walked in the corridors of power in Malaysia knew this and smile broadly whilst confronted with controversies.

Malaysians quiet down easily after a short period of anger display. In evidence, the Harun Idris scandal, Rahim Thamby Chik scandal, UMNO split, Tun Salleh Abbas's sacking, Rafidah Aziz's AP scandal, all these issues went through a brief period of heavy public criticism but the momentum was lost all to soon. The same with the mess of today's judiciary system. Abdullah played his political card right and chose to appoint Tan Sri Hamid as the new CJ over other candidates. After Tun Fairuz's controversial stint at the helm of the judicial hierarchy, a "cleaner" person is needed to clear up the mess for the time being. Tan Sri Hamid is known around the legal circle for his outstanding judicial qualities and intellectual capacity, evident in a few notable judgements to his credit. Although he is bound to retire by next year, Abdullah chose him over many other candidates, especially Zaki Tun Azmi. Many blogs wrote about the possibility of Zaki being appointed as CJ and the comments received were unanimously out of favour with the idea. It is because Zaki is a high ranking UMNO member (UMNO's attorney for a while then deputy chairman of the powerful disciplinary committee) and was appointed straight to the highest judicial hierarchy in the land, without first presiding over trials in lower courts. Abdullah toyed with the idea, only to find it would be like nailing his own poliical coffin. While many expected the worst - that Zaki will replace Fairuz as CJ, Abdullah delivered a better news in that Zaki would not be CJ, and Hamid will. Malaysians were overwhelmed and will and have already put the judicial mess all behind them, forgetting the judicial controversies altogether. Abdullah has won the first round of battle against the public dissatisfaction. While Malaysians in general think the worst is over that Zaki is not CJ, he is appointed as President of the Court of Appeal. As i have said in my older post on judiciary, this will be a better move for both UMNO and the legal fraternity. Why? UMNO will make itself look vulnerable my probably losing a few cases at high court levels, only to have the decisions overturned at the appeal court level. That is awesome isn't it? Lose the first fight, to win the bigger battle! Watch out for YAA Tan Sr Zaki Tun Azmi as he will be the incoming CJ come April 2008!! A record of merely eight months as a judge, to be appointed as chief to all the judges in this country. Hamid can't do much but temporarily pleasing ignorant Malaysians! He is just warming the seat for Zaki, who is now the legitimate next in line for the CJ throne. A funny legal system we have nowadays, where the judicial novice becomes among the most powerful.Malaysian politics is so interesting, isn't it?! Hidup Pak Lah!=)