[Keputusan 3 hakim besar yang mengadili Zainur itu bukan sahaja membebaskan beliau, tetapi ia juga telah mengutuk tindakkan Augustine Paul kerana tidak bersikap adil dan sengaja mengelak bukti dan fakta penting dari terkeluar agar pihak pendakwa tidak tertanggal seluar.

Keputusan itu juga telah memperakui akan sahnya pengakuan Manjeet sehingga ia disebut berkali oleh mereka. Ini menunjukkan hakim Augustine sudah melakukan satu kesalahan yang amat mencemarkan institusi kehakiman - kerana telah memihak kepada pendakwa yang berniat jahat mengugut Nalla memalsukan fakta agar Anwar terkena. Hakim Augustine Paul bukan sahaja telah mendera peguambela dan anak guamnya (Anwar) malah beliau telah memihak kepada pendakwa sedangkan hakim yang adil sepatutnya memihak kepada kebenaran dan mendengar semua fakta kerana itulah yang lebih utama - walaupun ia mengaibkan pihak pendakwa. - Editor]

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The Injustice of Justice Augustine Paul

Augustine Paul had charged the lawyer for contempt of court, for filing an application which (the judge had claimed) "has no basis", -- by arriving at a conclusion which the Federal Court found was "quite unsustainable in all circumstances" (in other words -- which had no basis)!

Augustine Paul had very proudly warned that he would flex "every inch" of his "judicial muscle' -- the Federal Court found him to be suffering from judicial dystrophy, especially in the area of judicious discretion.

Augustine Paul had declared that it was his "duty to guarantee that persons who are following this trial are not hoodwinked in any way" -- the Federal Court found that there was "a blatant disregard of rules of procedure and considering the frame of mind the learned trial judge was in, he should have been the last person to deal with the contempt issue"!

Augustine Paul had accused the lawyer for ""having attempted to undermine the integrity of this trial" -- the Court's integrity was undermined by what the Federal Court called "an error of judgment" and "misconception" by the judge.

Augustine Paul had spoken so eloquently in defence of "the process of Court" -- the Federal Court ruled that he had denied the lawyer a chance to defend himself by not allowing him to prepare his defence-- "thereby offending the sacrosanctity of a principle so fundamental to our system of justice"!

Augustine Paul had alleged that "...the object of filing (the application) is to project an impression that the prosecution is anchored on fabricated evidence" -- the Federal Court revealed that the judge's conduct "gave the picture that he was behaving as though he was acting as counsel for the two prosecutors in the motion"!

Augustine Paul had very confidently declared that the lawyer had committed a "serious contempt" -- the Federal Court was as clear "as night follows day, that the charge of contempt against the appellant (Zainur Zakaria) has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt" -- and "imposing a sentence of three months imprisonment was definitely the wrong icing on the cake"!

Augustine Paul had, in the name of justice, and "the smooth flow of justice", invoked the summary procedure -- the Federal Court ruled that he had "not correctly applied the summary procedure resulting in injustice to the appellant"!

Augustine Paul had found the lawyer guilty of contempt of court -- the Federal Court made it very relevant that "the conduct of the learned trial judge himself had vitiated the contempt proceedings"!

Augustine Paul by his conduct and bias administration of justice has tarnished the image of the judiciary. He should consult the Prime Minister and gracefully resign. He should apologise to Zainur Zakaria for the "injustice" he has caused him.

(Martin Jalleh, 1 July 2001)

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Note:

(On 27 June 2001, in an unanimous decision, the Federal Court -- comprising of Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim and judges Datuk Abdul Malek Ahmad and Datuk Haidar Mohd Nor -- allowed the appeal of Zainur Zakaria (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's lawyer) against contempt of court

Zainur was sentenced to three months' jail by High Court Judge Datuk Augustine Paul for contempt of court when he made an application on Anwar's behalf to stop Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Abdul Gani Patail and Datuk Azahar Mohamad from further prosecuting in Anwar's corruption case.

The judge had cited Zainur for contempt for being reckless, negligent and acting in bad faith by filing the application which was supported by affidavits containing allegations that the two Deputy Public Prosecutors had tried to get Datuk S. Nallakaruppan (Anwar's friend -- who was then charged under the ISA for a firearms offence) to fabricate evidence against him (Anwar).

The Federal Court decision was more than a "landmark judgment" (as was described by UN Rapporteur Datuk Param Cumaraswamy). At a closer look it was an indictment of the conduct and bias administration of justice by Justice Datuk Augustine Paul.