TUN Mohamed Salleh Abas' passing rekindled memories of the dark days of the judiciary in the late 1980s.
I was a young law student then, fascinated by intricate constitutional mechanisms and incredible judgments by brilliant minds.
The strength of memory cruelly fades, but of one fact I recall very well: law students had great respect then for many judges on the bench. Among them were Salleh and Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader. And the former lord president, Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim.
When Salleh was suspended as lord president in May 1988, and five Supreme Court judges too soon after, we felt as though we ourselves were under attack. We believed it was an evisceration of the judiciary. We were puzzled and enraged.
I dusted off a book from the struggling shelf and travelled back in time for a while this morning to relive those emotions.
The contents of The Role of the Independent Judiciary are drawn from the John Foster Galaway memorial lecture, delivered by Salleh at University College London in November 1988. It was about three months after he was removed from office.
It was hard to read the book again without asking old perplexing questions. Salleh himself noted that he did "not accept that my removal was valid both legally and constitutionally". Neither did he accept the "Report of the Tribunal as being a fair and just one".
What Malaysians were told then in the public domain was quite different altogether. Suffian, another national legend, in the foreword to the book made this abundantly clear.
"But Malaysians were dumbfounded to see that in our country a vicious, ferocious and sustained attack was officially launched (on the judiciary) at the highest level on TV, radio, in the newspapers and at political rallies --- and indeed in Parliament itself."
It's been 30-odd years since Salleh and two Supreme Court judges were dismissed. Is the ugly chapter closed and truly behind us? Many may not think so. Dispassionate historians will re-examine it in a better time, I hope, when enlightened minds rule the day.
I do not think it is about reopening old wounds. Surely we deserve to know that the history of this nation is drawn from truths, and not from a construction that merely suits sensitivities.
Salleh himself was optimistic about the impact of his removal. At the conclusion of the lecture, he spoke about how the people "have become united and jointly concerned over this episode… and appreciated the principle of an independent judiciary". For them, "No judge; no law. No law; no protection and everyone for himself".
Rome did not last forever. No empire ever did. Even America is trembling after just one season with an institution-busting man some would compare with the ruinous Caligula. So it is we --- the people, not the politicians --- must take great care of our institutions. Otherwise, we will have more dark memories, for sure.
