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After the Lingam Tape verdict at the Royal Commission level, either the Judges are getting more daring or more virtuous and more righteous... after living fearfully for 20 years after the removal of Lord President Salleh Abas?

The situation room was at the commencement of the proceedings of the election petition filed by the DAP candidate for the Sarikei parliamentary seat, Wong Hus She, to declare the result of the March 8 general election for the seat void.

The Barisan Nasional candidate, Ding Kuong Hing, won the seat with a slim majority of 51 votes.

But before the court proceedings began yesterday, Justice H C Ian Chin made some startling revelations [ See Chin's speech in full. ]

He informed the parties in open court that he had certain disclosures to make, saying he was doing so to forestall any complaints that might be made by the parties later.

Chin revealed that he had twice stood unsuccessfully as a Barisan Nasional candidate for a parliamentary and a state seat in Sabah in the 1980s. He was defeated by a DAP candidate in one of those elections.

He said complaints had been made against him in an earlier case that he had failed to disclose the detention of his father and brother during the time of the Mustapha regime in Sabah in late 1969 and the early 1970.

He later told of veiled threats on judges like him, and boot camp organised by the government "to indoctrinate" judges to hold the view that the government’s interest as being more important than all else when considering judgments.

In making the disclose, Chin also revealed how his colleague Justice Mohammad Kamil Awang received a telephone call from then chief justice, Eusoff Chin, asking Kamil to dismiss the election petition for the Likas constituency that he was going to hear in Kota Kinabalu.

Kamil subsequently declared election results for the Likas constituency as null and void as phantom voters, including non-citizens, had cast their votes in the poll.

In his judgment, Kamil hinted how ‘the only guide’ to a man is his conscience and that it was an insult to one's intelligence to be given a directive over the phone that these petitions should be struck off without a hearing.

For the record, Eusoff Chin -- who is also a key player named in the Lingam Tape scandfal -- acknowledged in his defence for calling Kamil, but denied issuing any directive save for telling Mohammad Kamil to expedite the case.

Kamil's revelation thus came to an abrupt end.

Wither 'Justice Delayed, Justice Denied'?

Alarmingly, Chin's disclosure was made some 20 years after the sacking of Salleh Abas (1988); some 11 years after veiled threat by a national leader was allegedly hurled at him and his brother judges (1997); and some 5 years after Dr Mahathir resigned as the PM (2003).

Is this what he attempts to overturn, that justice delayed is justice denied?

Kaboom! Separation of power is dead. Long live executive interference of the judiciary... and possibly voluntary judicial indiscretions.