Honesty in court dealings

Do we have such a weak judiciary system which cannot even uphold appointments? The Malaysian government needs to appoint serious people to become magistrates and judges.

Saravanan Forever

I am Saravanan, who is residing overseas. Last year, I filed a civil suit case in a local Malaysian court through my lawyer. 2 months back they called me for a hearing in a short period of time and I could not attend the case due to my health condition. I requested my lawyer to postpone the case so that I can attend the next case. And the magistrate was told that I was to come from overseas.

The hearing was fixed for the end of this month and my lawyer informed me 1.5 months in advance. The system in the West is not the same as in Malaysia. They are very strict and punctual in all dealings. I had to apply for a special permit to leave the country because I am under Social Security. Normally, a patient is not allowed to travel overseas. But I insisted to go because my lawyers are doing all the arrangements and I personally have to respect their efforts. This is simple understanding between human beings.

For Malaysians’ understanding, the Westerners are very particular about their appointments. For example, if they want to have dinner with someone they will make an appointment 1 or 2 weeks in advance and they will write it down in their diary. The same goes for any offices – they will write it down clearly and will not have 2 appointments at the same time. If they promise to meet us, it will definitely happen. There are 2 possibilities if they want to make changes in appointments. First, the person who is going to meet us will appoint his or her colleague otherwise they will change the date to the soonest date possible. So far, living in the West I have never seen hanky panky in legal matters. That is how they keep their country honest and punctual.

It goes the other way around in Malaysia. I was supposed to have a 2 days’ session in the court which will be the hearing too. One week earlier, I received an email from my lawyer saying “We regret to inform you that the trial for this matter which has been fixed on end of January 2015 has been adjourned by the Court to a later date. Therefore, you are not required to attend court on the above stated dates.
The reason given to us for the adjournment is that this matter will be transferred to another Court and will be heard before a new Magistrate”.

This was done after the magistrate understood that I am coming from overseas. The ticket has been bought and preparations for travel has been made. It concerns a person’s effort, money and time. Do we have such a weak judiciary system which cannot even uphold appointments? The Malaysian government needs to appoint serious people to become magistrates and judges.

The Bar Council and the Malaysian judicial body should be accountable for having bad appointments and promises. I am not living in Malaysia currently; who will be responsible for my effort and money wasted? According to my lawyer the magistrate is asking for a next date in March. Do you think it is easy to go back and come back the next month? This trip is already wasted, they are asking me to come again next month. Who is going to be responsible for my trip? There is no simple understanding in this matter.

I have been reading the latest news, for example even in some high profile cases they are changing the public prosecutor and judges according to the government’s will.  It is really a shameful matter where there is no honesty in the judicial body which is supposed to hold the country’s pillar of truth. This letter is just my personal opinion, who have some guts to write about the truth. How about other people who have gone through such hassles? All my questions are to be answered by our truthful Malaysians.
I am also seeking the attention of Malaysian Bar Council.

Thank you