Zaid: Govt has to apologise to victims of 1988 judicial crisis

Zaid: Govt has to apologise to victims of 1988 judicial crisis
Star - March 23, 2008

KOTA BARU: The Federal Government must make an open apology to those victimised by the judicial crisis in 1988 that led to the sacking of the then Lord President Tun Mohd Salleh Abbas, said newly-appointed de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

“We should seek forgiveness. In the eyes of the world, the judicial crisis has weakened our judiciary system,” he said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that although the issue was 20 years old, an apology was needed as it was wrongly handled and Tun Salleh's sacking was inappropriate.

From 1988, the judiciary's independence was eroded and led to allegations of corruption and abuse of power, he said.

The open apology would be one of his three main goals and would give a mandate for a fresh chapter to unfold in the country’s judiciary system, Zaid said at a thanksgiving feast to mark his appointment as a federal minister.

His second goal would be to strengthen judicial independence and the delivery of justice by revamping the appointment and promotion process of the country's judges and magistrates.

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