Ian Chin details humiliation at boot camp to soften them to take orders of previous administration
SIBU: High Court Judge Datuk Ian Chin continued to make explosive disclosures in the Sarikei parliamentary election petition mention yesterday, exposing how judges sent to the boot camp were made to go through punishment and humiliation so that they would be softened to take orders for the benefit of the former administration.
Chin delivered a 16-page statement after the one he made on June 9 that astounded the nation. It was alleged that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had exerted undue influence upon the judiciary to make it decide in the government’s favour.
Chin said he was sent to a boot camp for that.
In yesterday’s statement, Chin went on to reveal further details of what had happened in the camp.
Chin said for the participants, the objective was “to make us take orders and that is why apart from what I have said earlier in the last sitting, a junior officer was made our leader, from whom we have to take orders, and one Sessions Court judge who disagreed with that was made to publicly apologise on a podium to his junior officer leader”.
Chin added that “another method was to chisel away the view we held of how independent we should be in our job as High Court judges, and this they did by punishing or humiliating a High Court judge by making him carry a brick all the time after he broke the egg which each of us must carry wherever we went, including marching.”
Incidentally, he said: “You surrendered your wallet, your air ticket and handphone when you checked into the camp, and you cannot go anywhere, as it is in an isolated place, and you cannot leave for anywhere, as there is no transport.
“You are totally cut off from the outside world, with no newspapers or television.”
He said only selected news were conveyed to them then for the purpose of sampling reaction, like the news that a certain party had won a by-election, which elicited some applause from some young officers.
He said two of the judges left, one because of illness and the other because of his wife’s illness.
“Everyone who was not otherwise sick had to remain, and we all did save for the duo, with each given a certificate after the end of the stay.”
During the mention which started at 4pm, Chin started by saying he had prepared in advance yesterday’s statement and had emailed a copy each to the lawyers.
“In case I meet with an accidental death, both counsels have agreed that this statement would be regarded as having been pronounced in court,” he said.
Chin also mentioned in his statement about him being condemned for his June 9 statement with allegations made that he took the opportunity to speak up because he thought Dr Mahathir was responsible for blocking his promotion.
He went on to say that he had never wanted such a promotion, as it was his wish and that of his wife to return to Sabah so that they could be with their children.
He also mentioned about the alleged veiled threat by Dr Mahathir that he disclosed in his June 9 statement. He then went on to talk of the events in the boot camp.
Chin ended by saying that he had never wanted a promotion, “not before, now or in the future, nor any appointment after his retirement”.
“What do I get out of all this, knowing very well that I will be the target for vilification? It is this: I must be able to sleep well after I retire, knowing that I have done all I can, like all the crucified judges before me, to tell Malaysians the danger they are in, regarding the state of the judiciary.”
Raymond Tan
The Borneo Post
25/06/08
PEOPLE'S POWER
It is indeed people like High Court Judge Ian Ching that I admire. You do not have to be a millionaire to earn respect from me. I salute you, Judge Ian Ching.
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There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN.
I have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.
In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.
There is no doubt that UMNO has used gerrymandering to strengthen herself. If we removed gerrymandering from UMNO, then there would be a reduced UMNO. So the non-UMNO voters of Malaysia have good reasons to vote against UMNO.
It is possible that UMNO has used the Police Force to strengthen herself. The Police Force is required to be neutral. But is the Police Force neutral? I appeal to the Police Force to be neutral.
UMNO is a race based political party and also the big brother of BN. So, the complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get reforms. The complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get a new beginning.
UMNO is inclined to believe that Malaysians cannot do anything if they are in any way dissatisfied. The voters, however, have to send a strong message to UMNO that the voters can do something: the voters can vote.
So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.