20^th October, 1998

Mokhzani Mahathir

Sri Perdana,

Jalan Damansara,

Kuala Lumpur

Dear Mokh,

You and I have made a separate peace. You may have made it easy and I, otherwise. This is not the issue here but as a friend, my duty is to advise.

It has been good to be in the civilisation built upon your family – your brothers and sisters and I’m certain that you love them all especially your parents with undivided love. At a time such as this your love and support is more required…

I tried to write earlier but found the greatest difficulty aside from knowing the truth and what the truth can really feel for you and your family.

As a friend, I’m suppose to feel and was taught to feel about you and your family but also the rest of the people, some my friends, some family, others strangers but still the people of this great nation of ours. If I were to write the actual facts which produced the emotion of the people and their experiences, the real things that you might not even know which would have been a valid reason in a year or 10 years, for what they care. They will definitely get rid of the man whom they said have created the death of democracy and this man I’m talking about is non- other than your dad.

I’m certain that you are also aware that so many things have been done by your dad to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after the elimination of our brother Anwar. In short there’s no longer social justice.

Furthermore, the inflation derived from this economic turmoil we currently face will sooner or later intensify the already extensive grudges of the people.

Inevitable that the policy created by your dad was intended to prevent the downfall of the country, (including the Foreign Exchange Control Policy and the ‘Bail-out’ of preferred companies) I doubt it will work. Instead, it will draw more unemployment and this will definitely accelerate the country’s inflation.

Cowardice as distinguished from panic. It shows your dad has passed his prime time and simply show a lack of ability to sustain and function as a Prime Minister. Time is the least thing you and your family have now.

The world is a fine place and I hate very much to see all this happening beyond the imagination and if you are lucky, your dad may escape even from a brutal assassination from the ambush of the public to show you how much anger are there on the streets.

Mokh, you have got to go to the street yourself and ask the people or you will never know. Don’t depend on the so-called official report. I guess that what’s left behind is for you to be brave and to tell your dad to step down.

Please tell him that his plan to remove brother Anwar as his deputy and successor has backfired. It would be silly for him to ignore that the whole government machinery has fumble beginning with the local media all the way to his officers of the Police Department and the officers of the AG Chambers.

The flaws in the system are too apparent now and none of the people will believe that the judiciary are spared from any discrepancies. I must tell you that the following people - Omar Chin (The Chief Justice, Eusoff Chin’s brother), Toh Puan Datin Seri Rosaini Mustaffa (Eusoff’s Chin’s wife) and Mohamad Fozi Md. Zain (a partner in the firm of Eusoff Chin’s wife) together with a few other legal firms and lawyers, have been branded as ‘trial fixer’ - they are able to influence the judgement of the court especially in high profile matters. These are the common knowledge of the public. Now you understand why nobody awaits the judgement of Anwar’s case. The verdict has been premeditated and that’s what they believe.

All these matters make the people upset. Advice the same to your uncle Daim, Aziz Shamsuddin, Ghafar Baba, Abang Rahim Thamby Chik and others.

They will all be driven into the same fold because of only one reason. The first law for a true leader is that he shall never dare utter an untruth, the second is that he shall suppress nothing that is true, moreover there shall be no suspicion or partially in his decision, or of malice. Remember this advice – it was your dad’s. I also remember he used to say, " if I cannot walk safely in this country-without any protection, something is wrong with my leadership and the way of my administration."

Your dad’s own good principals at one time, have been violated by himself and the people surrounding him. Do not blame others if he is no longer popular and accepted by the people. Accept this, dear friend.

I’m not condemning your dad. History has witnessed and testified to the goodness that he has done during the past. In reality I would suggest your family realise the importance of preserving this good memory.

Don’t let all these good things go down. Democracy should be adhered and not pass into despotism.

Beware Mokh, when the community of middle class citizens draw together what they want are changes. They are peaceful lots who believe nothing can be created from nothing. I think you know their verdict.

There should be no uses of force or violence. If violence and injury happens in handling the demonstrators, I believe at 73, your dad will be blamed of being senile and power-crazy. Remember the law is order, and good law is good order.

Mokh, as for brother Anwar, thanks to your dad, all of us now has watch him as a man in time of peril and in adversity, to see what kind of man he is. For then, the last word of truth is drawn from the depth of his heart and makes him stronger and the reality remains he is indeed a good leader to replace the other good leader whose time has already past.

To err is human. To accept one’s mistake is wisdom. Force without wisdom shall fall of its own weight.

I pray may God prevent any revolution. If it happens, I sincerely believe everyone in Malaysia will pay a great deal of price and the one who have the power to stop but still persist, will be the criminal and may God then let the punishment match the offence.

Yours truly,

(signed)

For your information the KL High Court Criminal Division has 2 courts namely court 1 and 2. The judge sitting (or sat as we heard on 28/10/98 he has been transferred to the appellate division of the High Court) in court 1 is (was) Datuk KC Vohrah. In court 2 we have the infamous Datuk Wahab Patail who is also the brother of the equally infamous Deputy Public Prosecutor, Ghani Patail, this was the same judge who dismissed the habeas corpus application by DSAI. Datuk KC Vohrah is the most senior judge in the High Court of Malaya.

When DSAI's case was transferred from the Sessions Court to the High Court, the case was allocated to both court 1 and 2 (this is of course not the normal procedure as a case can only be allocated to one court not both). As we know the judge "appointed" to hear DSAI's case in the High Court is neither Datuk KC Vohrah, the most seniour judge in the High Court of Malaya nor Datil Wahab Patail but judge Augustine Paul. Who is he in the criminal division of the KL High Court? Your guess is as good as ours.

Who is Justine Augustine Paul? He has been on the bench for many years but was only (a few months ago) elevated to be a High Court judge. Prior to his elevation he was a judicial commissioner (high court judge on probation) sitting in Melaka High Court. Upon his elevation he was to be transferred to KL to take over the place of Dato Kadir Sulaiman in the civil division. Much to our surprise we read in the papers that he was transferred to KL to a criminal court and to her DSAI's case.

It simply bugs the mind why is the most junior High Court judge hearing this case when there is already the most senior judge in the High Court of Malaya in court 1? Is this just another shadow play by the higher forces?

We also can't help but to think of Rahim Thamby Chik, Rahim Noor, Ghaffar Baba, Mokhtar Abdullah & Augustine Paul what do they have in common? Yes they hail from Malacca.