Cheap Discount 

Mention the name Lim Guan Eng and two words come to mind: cheap and discount. Not only did he buy the bungalow with a cheap discount but he also takes cheap shots, while anything he says to defend himself can easily be discounted.

From the day he was released on bail after being arraigned and charged for being a corrupt official, Guan Eng, or more famously known now as Tokong has been going around for public sympathy and bad-mouthing the Attorney-General that if I were the Chief Justice, I would have issued a Writ of Mandamus to the court handling Tokong’s case to cite him for being in contempt.

Yes, contempt.

Tokong has been charged in court and a court proceeding process commences the moment the accused is arraigned. Unlike in the UK, the power to cite a person for being in contempt in Malaysia is given by statute. Attempting to influence opinions on a case that is still in process is being in contempt.

The Attorney-General has issued a warning to Tokong to stop his attacks on the former. My take on this is that the presiding judge should be firm and issue a warning to Tokong et al.

It is funny how Gobind Singh Deo, the counsel for Tokong, issued a counter-warning to the Attorney-General in support of his client’s behaviour.

I believe Gobind, a DAP office-holder, is just prodding the Attorney-General to see what ticks by making things more personal. It is just a ploy to find a reason to get the Attorney-General to be disqualified from the trial. For those who don’t know, the Attorney-General is a no-nonsense man and is a man with very few words. He is very careful with what he says and the need to say it.

Gobind is trying to say that it is within Tokong’s right to explain himself to the people, and I would like to reiterate that it is in contempt of court. I would like to bring you to an earlier event to show the hypocrisy of the DAP and also Tokong.

There was a time when government-appointed prosecutor Shafee Abdullah went on a roadshow to explain the Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 case. The whole opposition jing-bang went to town to crucify Shafee. This included an opposition-leaning institution that is well-known for issuing statements drunkards would – aptly called the Malaysian Bar. They even wanted to disqualify Shafee from the legal profession.

Let us remember that Shafee conducted his roadshow AFTER the Sodomy 2 trial had concluded and a judgment had been made. In no way was Shafee ever in contempt as firstly he was explaining the case, and secondly he never disputed the judgment made. Tokong on the other hand had gone to town trying to vindicate himself and say that the Najib government is trying all out to oust him. And this is done while the trial is still underway and judgment has not been made.

Interesting that Gobind, as Tokong’s counsel, had asked the Attorney-General to shut up instead of giving proper legal counsel to his client. And for making public statements, I remember what the Malaysian Bar had said about Shafee:

“…holding press conferences, giving media interviews…”

I hope to see a motion by the Malaysian Bar to censure Gobind but I won’t bet on it. But I sure hope Penang Langs would discount Lim Guan Eng from being next term’s Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang.