Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers
Can Federal Court Leave Applications be heard without counsel?
The answer is a ‘No’. Here are my reasons.
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Home Featured Articles , Politics
Can a judge dance?
Why not? Dancing is an expression of joy. A judge is human. Why should a judge be deprived of joy? Yet, whether a judge could dance publicly would depend on the occasion, wouldn’t it? Which side of the line did the CJ and the AG tread last week?
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Do you like the English language? Here are some of the most memorable lines written by judges.
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Are there sure-fire techniques that make it easier to succeed in appeals? Yes, there are. If appellate counsel don't practise the Rules of Minimalism, Detachment, or do not ask the right Questions of Law, they'd fail. If they argue at the Court of Appeal burdened with a blunderbuss, they'd fail - because they are kiasu: they shoot at any target, with everything they've got. Here are some techniques that ...
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What do the traditions of the Malaysian Bar stand for?
The Malaysian Bar has preserved the traditions of the legal profession. Some of them are more than 500 years old. The Bar insists on keeping them. Why?
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Judges are the judicial equivalent of US Navy Seals. They are a select few. Their training is severe. Their work is unremitting. They have but three abiding qualities: to defend the Federal Constitution, to render justice; and to live with quiet honour. Should we not, as a nation, aspire for those qualities in our judges?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , For Lawyers , Government , Politics
Is the selection of judges transparent?
Is the current method of selecting judges, transparent? Should it be? What can be done to improve it?
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Politics
Will Corruption Amnesty Work? [Part-2: Proposals]
This is Part 2 of the article entitled, ‘Will Corruption Amnesty Work?’ You’ll find part 1 here. We saw, in Part-1, how if we sack every corrupt person, we’d lose a substantial number of people in enforcement agencies, local governments, courts, and the Government. This is because corruption in Malaysia is deep-seated. So what? Corruption and State Capture Corruptions infects and emaciates a nation, its institutions and its people. It kills a just and efficient ...
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Blog , Constitutional Law , English , Government , Home Featured Articles , Politics
Could we eliminate electoral fraud by improving election laws?
Could we eliminate electoral fraud by improving election laws? An election petition is a difficult thing. The law has ring-fenced it with several impenetrable technical rules. Combating electoral corruption under the current, antiquated laws is impossible. After the results of the 13th General elections results were announced on 5 March 2013, I was asked, with a dozen others, to file election petitions for 22 constituencies in Perak. The petitions alleged that the winners ...
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Blog , English , For Lawyers
On the horns of a dilemma – will the Federal Court judges recuse themselves?
An unusual thing happened at the Federal Court on August 6, 2018. There is a history to this. You know it well. It concerns a company called 1MDB and the ex-PM Najib Razak. On March 23, 2016, Mahathir sued the then PM Najib Razak for ‘misfeasance in public office’. The High Court struck out the suit. The judge ruled that a prime minister was not a ‘public officer. The Court of ...
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