The newly appointed Law Minister, Zaid Ibrahim's intention to issue apologies to those involved in the 1988 judicial crisis is lauded. At last, the Government is willing to take responsibilities for the cowardly acts of the then Prime Minister, Mahathir. Since that day, the judiciary has slipped into a twilight zone where the executive under the PM maintains its iron grip on the judiciary.

Why did it take so long? Did the election results finally jolt our political administrators into reality? Does this mean that finally the Government is taking the blame on behalf of Mahathir? What does Mahathir himself have to say?

Certainly more questions than answers. But the bottomline is that finally the Federal Government has realised that the integrity of the judiciary has been called into question by the meddling from the Executive arm. Removing the Judiciary from the Executive is of paramount importance if the people are expected to once again respect our judicial system.

This move will certainly earn the ruling Barisan government some brownie points. However, following up these statements with concrete measures at restructuring the judiciary will surely be the true test. Their fate in the next general election may well rest on the outcome of this apology.

Perhaps the next target should be the Anti-Corruption Agency which is currently under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department. I feel the ACA should report either to the Parliament or directly to the King. In this way, their independence can be further guaranteed and investigations can be carried out without fear or favour.

Are we finally seeing a changed Barisan Government?

ps Zaid Ibrahim has rightfully quit his law firm, Zaid Ibrahim & Co, today. See report here.
Website of Zaid Ibrahim & Co