Was Zaid Being Seditious For Calling The Judges 'Heartless' In The Indira Case?

Zaid Ibrahim was a maverick law minister.

It was not surprising that he left the Cabinet when he felt that he could not see eye to eye with the government then.

When Zaid joined the opposition coalition, many people were hoping that he would help the opposition to wrest Putrajaya.

Unfortunately, he eventually parted ways with Parti Keadilan, perhaps too impatient to climb up the party hierarchy.

Thereafter he formed his own political party which he also eventually left.

Whether you are enamoured of him of not, this guy just won't lie down.

Although he is not a member of any political party now, he continues to write on what he thinks is wrong with the country and the government of the day and gives his two cents on current issues.

Whether you agree with him or not on most things he writes about, you will have to agree that he does often talk sense or at least you will not begrudge him the right to express his opinions.

Was he being seditious for calling the judges 'heartless' in the Indira case?

The courts are indeed supposed to be the last bastion of justice against tyranny and all that is wrong.

If the judiciary fails in upholding this lofty duty, then all is lost to the people and tyranny will soon rule.

Judges should temper justice with mercy and use their wisdom to work justice where the spirit of the law is better served than that the letter of the law be prioritised or adhered to strictly or blindly.

(Especially so where there are conflicting precedents touching on a case that judges could wisely choose to have recourse to, to ensure that justice in a case is best served)

Judges should not be overly concerned about what the public feels or says about a case they have decided unless what is said goes beyond honest opinion, however mistaken that might be.

If they are to pay heed to everything that is being said or expressed about their decisions, they won't have the time nor the peace of mind or equanimity to do their work.

Unfortunately, in Bolehland, it is fast becoming a trend for the authorities, under Ah Jib's weak and increasingly intolerant administration (?), to haul up anyone for sedition for anything they perceive to be a slight to the powers that be.

Or for any such perceived slight to be considered a threat to parliamentary democracy, not caring that freedom of expression (however robust that might be) is itself a cornerstone for a strong parliamentary democracy to thrive and take root.

The alternative is creeping tyranny and dictatorship.

Whether Zaid has crossed the line or not is not for me to say.

But I do believe that many Bolehlanders do sympathise with him.

Bolehlanders do only hope for a more robust democracy to take root instead of the take-it-or-leave-it de-mock-racy we are being left with.