Malaysiakini.com （http://www.malaysiakini.com）
Karpal's jibe: Judge harps on BM but writes in English, 10 December 2009
by Rahmah Ghazali
Karpal Singh is puzzled. The senior lawyer cannot fathom why Justice Abdul Malek Ishak would want to stress on the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia using the English language.
The DAP MP was taking a swipe at the Court of Appeal judge for striking out his client Anwar Ibrahim's RM100 million suit against former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad based on language technicalities.
The court ruled that all court documents must be filed in the national language, because the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia is enshrined in the federal constitution.
In his written judgment released yesterday, Justice Malek said failure to satisfy the ruling would result in applications being dismissed.
Anwar's lawyers had filed the memorandum of appeal in English.
However, Karpal wondered why the judge did not pen his judgment in Bahasa Malaysia if the issue was of such grave importance.
"I would have thought there was more than a need for him to have written his judgment in Bahasa Malaysia in view of the strong language he uses in support of it," he said.
Make English official 2nd language
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament, Karpal also urged the government to 'carefully consider' amending the constitution to include English as the second official language of the country.
He said although Bahasa Malaysia was given pride of place in the country as stated in the constitution, the courts are still bestowed "with inherent jurisdiction to ensure justice is not denied to litigants."
"Every effort should be made to ensure that suits are not thrown out on technicalities. In the end, it is the substantial justice of the case which must be given the highest premium," he added.
He also noted that the High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court proceedings in point of submissions and arguments are still in the English language.
"This is a necessity in view of law reports being essentially in the English language. The time has not come to completely eradicate the use of the English language in courts.
"The position is further compounded as English has gained recognition as the language of commerce internationally, particularly in view of globalisation,” he said.
"Therefore, the National Language Act has to be considered in the context of this development. Otherwise, the country will be left behind and be deprived of the progress it can attain," he added.
According to Karpal, as result of English not being given prominence in court proceedings, foreign investors, including multinationals, will resort to arbitration instead of referring disputes to the courts.
"This is not a step in the right direction as it reflects the loss of confidence in the judiciary.
"The English language, both in schools and in administration of the country, is perhaps at its lowest ebb, unlike the position in Singapore where English is virtually the national language of the country.
"We should not lose out to Singapore," he added.
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