Judiciary only hope of the rakyat

Laws must be intepreted to protect the innocent

I refer to the report “Judges rapped for being biased”(NST July 20).

The recent spat between the Federal and Appeals courts which have been highlighted by our national media is an unhealthy development for judicial system of the country. It creates so much confusion in the minds of the people as to who is right and can undermine the confidence of the people in the system.

We are repeatedly lectured that justice must not only be done but it must also be seen to be done. The judiciary must be seen to be consistent in its interpretation of the laws of the country. The laws of a country are enacted to safeguard the rights of the rakyat, however low he may be in the socio-economic ladder, and they must be interpreted to fulfill that purpose and nothing else.

In this context, it is of utmost importance for the judges at all levels to act and behave in a manner appropriate to the highly noble responsibility entrusted upon them, which is to safeguard the rule of law at all costs. The rights and welfare of the rakyat must be the only consideration when they deliberate and deliver their judgments.

The ordinary man on the street has nowhere to turn to for justice except the judiciary and if the institution, that is established to grant him justice fails, it would be a great tragedy not only to the person who seeks fair play but also the institution itself.

Dr.Chris Anthony