The use and abuse of Malaysia’s law enforcement and judicial system
Malaysia has one of the most crooked legal systems in the region
The integrity of Malaysia’s legal-judicial system has rapidly decayed since Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister in November 2022.
Since Anwar has been prime minister, a number of high-profile court cases were terminated with a “Discharge Not Amounting to an Acquittal (DNAA), allowing defendants to walk free from the court. Malaysians saw a number of high-profile politicians, including deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, being the most noteworthy, discharged from indictments of corruption and money laundering this year. Former prime minister Najib Razak’s prison sentence was commuted from 12 to 6 years, and fine reduced by 75 percent to RM 55 million by the Pardons Board. These visible special arrangements made for VVIPs has hastened the undermining the system of justice in Malaysia.
A survey undertaken by the writer indicates a low level of trust and confidence in the Malaysian judicial system. It’s easy to speculate this low level of trust has come from citizens observing law enforcement and the legal system being used as a tool for bullying, intimidation, selective prosecution of critics of the government and the political opposition. At the same time, there is declining case diligence by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) with cases involving government members on trial, amounting to case dismissals.
Bullying and Intimidation
The current modus operandi today is where the police can act with impunity when bullying and intimidating a citizen over what he/she thinks and expresses to the community as opinion. If someone exposes the money laundering, corruption, and criminal activities of the elite, they will be chastised by the authorities.
Corruption is covered up by the concoction of the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty), where any discussion of these subjects by ordinary citizens results in arrest and intimidation, while those on the government side do so with total impunity. This is a total abuse of the legal system. Upon examination, the 3Rs mantra puts itself above the Constitution. Any corruption regarding members of the monarchy can be suppressed, where the whistleblower exposing corruption punished. Other matters regarding race and religion impinge upon freedom of speech and freedom of religion, written into the constitution.
The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) acts upon consultation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM), and even the governing political parties. The police often conduct joint raids with the above and state religious departments. These raids are made on the basis of a person’s beliefs, opinion, and faith, as well as political allegiance. Most of these raids don’t end up in charges. They are acts of intimidation, where people are falsely imprisoned for a short length of time, intimidated, where their computers and mobile phones confiscated, most often not returned to the owners.
The treatment of citizens this way is a total abuse of power. Most of these acts are politically motivated, where opposition MPs and activists have been the prime victims. In addition, the police often hold press conferences asserting guilt of people through accusation, usually without any follow-up. Law enforcement in Malaysia is now a politicised system.
There is no ombudsman or statutory body to report these abuses, as a means to seek any accountability by authorities.
Lawfare and persecution are now specialities of the authorities in Malaysia. A number of prominent opposition MPs have been very publicly humiliated and charged, which is manipulated in a way the public cheer on and media highlights manipulated public support to the government’s advantage. These are now media spectacles, where police with firearms wearing balaclavas to hide their identities are used in this theatre. Most of the charges laid under these sham-operations end up being delayed and eventually dismissed by courts with little media coverage.
Razarudin Husain politician or policeman?
It must be noted here that the home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who is ultimately in charge of all these operations lost his seat in the last general election, and was appointed a senator. He will never be democratically accountability to the people.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been conducting ‘revolving door’ persecutions of prime minister Anwar’s adversaries through very public investigations. These ‘suspects’ are called up for questioning, but to-date no criminal charges have been laid against any of them.
Attorney General’s Chambers
The work of the Attorney General’s Chambers must be called into question with their sloppy court preparations and presentations that have led to the dismissal of criminal charges against Anwar’s political allies. One way to fix a court trial is to prepare and present a poor prosecution that the court has no alternative but to discharge the defendant due to lack of evidence.
This occurred to deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on 47 charges of corruption and money laundering. In some countries this would be called ‘fixing a trial’.
This has been caused by either total incompetence of the AGC, or premeditated tampering of trials to acquit defendants. The AGC remains totally unaccountable for this.
The case of Yusoff Rawther is very concerning. Yusoff was arrested on firearm and narcotics charges under suspicious circumstances, where the planting of evidence by police is a possibility. There is great concern for the personal wellbeing for Yusoff, where Yusoff had filed a suit against prime minister Anwar for sexual assault. Sections of the legal community are saying the case is politically motivated, where the police had assisted in perverting the course of justice. With 74 deaths, many of these in suspicious circumstances, in police custody during 2023, there is a need for concern.
Bribery in the legal profession
The writer has been told a number of stories about the poor performance of their attorneys, which led to their loss in court against civil powerful and politically connected plaintiffs. Many believe, although it must be said without proof, that appearances by their lawyers in court had been working against, in what appeared to be favouring the other side. This is not an isolated story. This is a common complaint the writer has received by aggrieved defendants
How much this is a widespread practice, is difficult to ascertain. However, there exists a group of some lawyers who will ‘sell out’ their clients in the Malaysian legal profession today.
The independence of the judiciary
There is no evidence of members of the judiciary taking biased positions in cases, since Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy 1 and corruption case in 1999, where he was convicted. However, public observation of case results against VVIPs have created an impression of bias.
There is a long history of suspicion of judicial bias in Malaysia, particularly in political cases. This is what makes it very difficult to provide the perception that a judge is above any bias in a 3R case. The judge is a citizen of a state with a Sultan, he or she may personally be acquainted with or even socialise with. Thus, hearing cases in the same state, where any charges involve the current Sultan may prevent any defendant obtaining a fair trial, due to the perception of bias. Law enforcement authorities and prosecution attorneys may feel a misguided sense of duty towards their Sultan, above their duty towards the law.
Malaysia is now a country where the fair treatment of a person by the police, investigating authority, and judiciary is suspect. One only has to look at the sentence of two years jail over a defamation case given to British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown in absentia, over a book outlining corruption and the 1MDB financial scandal. The integrity and ability of a person obtaining a fair hearing in any Malaysian court must be questioned. One cannot even assume safety in detention with a politically biased police institution.
Malaysia’s system of justice outwardly appears two-tiered where it’s depends upon who you are, as to the treatment one will receive. Ordinary citizens appear to have little chance of fairness throughout this decadent system. When a single uneducated mother gets 10 months jail for stealing a bottle of coffee and VVIPs get off for stealing billions, not millions, something is wrong.
Malaysia has now joined a number of other countries, where lawfare against ‘enemies of the state’ is common practice. The home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who oversees the system has no hesitation in using draconian laws his own political party pledged to repeal before coming to office.
Malaysia is not a country one would want to submit themselves to a crooked legal and judicial system and expect a fair hearing.
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Nothing could be worse in law enforcement and the legal system of Malaysia than the denial ofjustice of DS Najib by a stacked court, an ignorant prosecutorial service and a denial of natural justice to the accused.
The volumes of real evidence was deliberately withel by the prosecution to DS Najib's lawyers. They were intimidated and their case interfered with. Witnesses were excused and not called at the proseuctors whim to suit his political case.
The defendnt was refused counsel of his choice on the weak and unsustainable excuse that he was wasting time with deliberate delays. As a matter of fact the case against DS Najib is far from over.
That particular case against DS Najib and the 1MDB affair was concocted by the National Endowment for Democracy, the Soros Fuondation and Reime change.
The truh will surface now that a new regime is in charge in Washington and the files have been prepared for review. It will throw up the names and activities of key players in the US, Australi, the UK and the USA. It won't be a pretty picture.