Author: Dr Navin C Naidu

The culture of lawlessness

Lawless are they that make their wills their law. – William Shakespeare (The Two Gentlemen of Verona) The culture of lawlessness is the bane of elected government actors in the role of ‘robbinghoods’ engaging in unstoppable, uncontrollable and unspeakable illegal activities under colour of law. The voters are in a

Cracking chicanery codes

The criminal law is no use to decent people. – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright   A code is universally known as “a system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others, especially for the purposes of secrecy”. Going by this definition, the United States Code, Malaysia’s Criminal Procedure

Triune trialogue

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.  – Edward R. Murrow, American broadcaster American lawyer Alexander Bickel postulated, a few decades ago, that courts and legislatures must interact on a regular basis because they serve the public interest (commune bonum) – individually and collectively. So, if public

Money-free elections

Once in a while, an innocent man is sent to the legislature. – Mark Twain, American writer Mark Twain’s paradox would postulate that, in a perfect world, the whole idea of running for public office is to serve the public selflessly. Hidden agendas, unseen hands, ulterior motives, undue influence, deception,

Where the buck must stop

You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility. – Byron L. Dorgan, former US Senator President Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk that read “the buck stops here.” Those four words spell mental agility, accountability, responsibility and response-ability. Read: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the sacking of

The language of governance

Language is very powerful. It does not just describe reality, it creates the reality it describes. – Desmond Tutu, South African Bishop When government cannot be cured but endured; tolerated instead of being outlawed; or redesigned as an unpopular formula, the inevitable political suicide is akin to rearranging the deck

Secrets’ societies

Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant.– Associate Justice Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court (1916-1939) Politicians gloat about the need for transparency, responsibility, accountability as they wield power to classify, or declassify, certain documents deemed surreptitiously secret. The media frenzy over this issue in the USA is on overdrive while most Americans

Constitutional catharsis

A written Constitution is not a mere lawyers’ document. It’s a vehicle of Life, and its spirit is always the spirit of the Age. — B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist The time to restructure the Federal Constitution (FC) has arrived to accommodate all 21st century stakeholders — the People, the Borneo

Truth bombs

De jure regimes are constantly bombarded by de facto jurisdictions, especially when claiming actions for the recovery of land. This involves everything above the land, beneath the land, and around the land. This is accepted, endorsed and known in de jure language as a Latin common law doctrine: cuius est

Rollercoaster justice

The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.  – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader THOUSANDS of decisions delivered by courts of law have courted disaster, provoked anxiety, shock, controversy and outrage because of the huge question marks hovering ominously over the rule of