3rD dAy

So were leaving to pulau kapas today.. GoD!! we weren't even out of the cove and already me and arif were bickering.. AZrif kept crackering jokes making my hands feel like jelly from laughing.. Ahead of us, Nyah shouted 'sudah la tu,dari belakang sana aku dapat dengar korang'.. Along the way thirst hit me hard.. Was soo thirsty.. I finnished a 1.5 litre botel in half the journey.. luckly I got a botle from Nina.. God bless that gurls soul.. In 4 hours we arrived.. aparently our group were the longest to arrive in the history of this course.. When i got back after the holidays.. i was going to class with arif and as usual we were bickering.. Ahead of us Nyah/Ita turned and said.. 'I dah agak dah mesti korang.. I can tell ur voices from anywhere..'

2Nd DaY

Wah.. today was basically learning the basics and to get to know the other participants.. the weather was milder and we swam in the river.. at times the water was kinda dark and OMG filthy.. me and arif were partners at times while i also practised with fareeza.. wanted to try with nina but man was the girl busy.. Finally managed to get her in the afternoon.. once we were togather.. loads of problems.. commanding issues.. but shhe was cool.. got each other new partners..

1st DAY

We finally arrived.. after making a few stops and a late brunch we arrived at Pusat Kenu Negeri Terengganu.. unpacked and had an introductory course by mr. syafie.. we were then introduced to our instructors; MIZI, AYUB, Rosli among the few.. after learning abit about kayak anatomy we all went kayaking.. basically most of us floundered to learn the new tecniques.. Dinner was a normal affair and then came the ice-breaking session.. Right after we slept as we were exhausted..

Leaving for Kuala Ibai....!!

Finally the damn exams are over.. leaving me three days to settle my things back home and to come back to malcca.. Yup.. thanks to my friend arif, who's brilliant idea was for us to go to Kuala Ibai join a kayak expedition to pulau kapas.. i'm now on my way to terengganu.. we left on a school bus.. giving some doubt's to our safety by Ms. Nina who has some issue there :p.. (hey, I may share some of that sentiment) anyways.. gotta go.. leaving soon.. huhu..kinda excited.. :p

Study.. study.. study..

Yay.. Only left with this last one paper .. then i'm bound home free!! hum.. the other day was spent in the library cam whoring.. Read notes that was a total waste, as none of which came out.. Should have known better than to read on Syariah Courts..


Hehe.. Arif was playing with Sara's ring.. pretending to be engage konon!! Poor Steven......... Was so much fun seing Nina grab for the ring my God! her face was so bloated it looked surreal!! After that little mood was left to study in.. It left with our main pastime.. CAM WHORING!!





Finally the Miss's got back her ring and the spell was broken.. She's prety at long last!! :p Anyways.. we headed for dinner.. still cam whoring the whole way..

Goodbye Legal Language II!!!

Finally that damn exam is finally over.. Was up all night worrying about that paper. Glad it is now over and done with.. Woohoo..! Went out for breakfast at McD around 4am.. Man weren't we grateful they serve it early here.. Went with my housemate and 2 girl friends.. While eating I was looking into my friends hp and came across this pic.. Thinking it was a picture of his ass I showed it to the gurls.. God!! My mate took one look at the pic and laughed out loud.. Turns out it was not his pic but mine.. In my hurry to erase it I mistakenly looked into the next pic. Boy was I in for another surprise.. Turns out he had a picture of his own.. Lets just say it was too explicit.. His excuse was to say he was bored the night before.. Now it was my turn to laugh.. To my dismay he took the hp and deleted the pic.. After that didn't have the mood to study.. Just kept chatting.. Forced to cram some stuff in the end and we left to go change. All in all I was basically glad that exam was over.. Now I need to get ready for tomorrows exam.. Hum.. Guess I got to get going.....

America's Next Drag Top Model!!

Saw this page while going through the net.. Man was I in for a surprise.. Made me laugh like hell.. And the pic's were definitely well taken... Congrats to the photographer..
Here is to Thomas Locke Hobbbs and his outrages pics!!

All RISE!!

Today was one off those days when something wonderful but totally unexpected happened. The night before, I was asked by a friend to help a friend of a friend with a problem in which her friend had to appear to the courts. The story goes is that this friend had a run with the law and as a foreigner the police tried to bribe him. Following their failure to extort from him the issued him a warrant of appearance.

The problem arised when the said friend had an exam on he date an time of the appearance. We decided to go early to the IPK Malacca to inform them that our friend could not attend the appearance. Once we were there we were told that we could not send such a letter as the court hearing was in an hour. We explained that as a foreigner he did not know the Malaysian legal system.


Dejected we decided to have breakfast. Half way through we got a call from a friend’s dad stating that we should go to the court hearing and ask for a new subpoena. If not the court would issue a warrant of arrest.So we all went to the Makhamah Magistrate Air Keroh. Upon reaching there we were told to go to the Magistrate Court 1 which was the Traffic Court. We then gave the warrant of appearance to the bailiff. We waited for three hours before the court heard our case by then most cases were already decided. Let’s say nervous did not cover the magnitude of what I was feeling. As usual, I’m always terrified of doing something new in which I have this deep fear of humiliating myself publicly.

So it was with great trepidation that I approached the bench. I gave my IC and asked permission from the court to speak English as I knew I would totally be a mess if I were to speak Malay. I said I was representing my friend as he could not attend the hearing as he had an exam. With that I gave the court a copy of his exam certificate and student id and a copy of his Malaysian Immigration ID. The court asked my relationship with the accused and I said I was a friend and with that I gave my student ID proving I was a student. I then told the court that my friend just finished his exam and that he was on is way. The court to my surprise said that they would wait for him to come. Man! I was left speechless. Thinking I would get a new court hearing I was going to have to prepare my friend in minutes.


I was left waiting for my friend a half an hour all the while praying that he would come. I confess that I was afraid that this friend might have left me stranded. Afraid I might get a contempt of court I urged my friend to call him. But I was proved wrong as he showed up later and explained he was late due to the fact that he got lost. The bailiff was already sneering at me. He then had uttered these words: ‘kau ni nak klentong makhamah ke? MMU tu tak jauh! Apa yang lambat sangat ni?’ Suffice to say I was glad when he arrived.

After waiting for another 20 minutes my friend was called to appear before the court. Due to his lack of understanding of the Malay language I was allowed to approach the court and help translate the legalese. He was charged under 2 counts. After explaining the charges he pleaded guilty on 2 counts.

I then pleaded to the court for a lighter sentence as this case was a matter of circumstances and furthermore my friend was a first time offender. It was to our amazement that the court gave him a very light sentence due to the situation. A fine of RM100 was issued for each count.


Well my mom always said that a good deed never went unrewarded and it will always be with me that my first appearance before the court. It was a simple traffic case but it gave me confidence that no debate or mock trail in class ever could.

Uhm.. It's off to the Library again..

Hum.. So the constitutional paper yesterday was as tough as old leather boots.. At the library.. Trying desperately to find a muse to help make this bearable.. Argh.. no eye candy with eye distance.. Suddenly everyone seems to be soo studious.. It is soo like MMU students to fill the library during the finals and not anytime else.. Guess its the same all over the world.. Wish there was a park on campus.. A breath of fresh air would be delightful..


Wah.. Man I'm bored. The next paper is Legal Language II and the lecturer gave no conclusive hits.. Not even the notes are usefull as such note were to be deemed insufficient to the lecturer.. Man sometimes it dosen't pay to have a idecisive lecturer who happens to be a bit temperamantel.. I(We) love you Mdm but you got to leave your personal issue aside and for Gods sake we are not trying to undermine your class or even try to be disrespectfull.. It is NOT disrespectfull to look into your eyes when we speak to you.. Its a sign of respect..

Anyways, for those of you who have an exam.. Wish you the best of luck!!

Argh.. Exams..

Man the paper was tough today.. Three hours and still the time was insufficient to finnish answering the questions.. Ganna go back to sleep now.. My eyes are puffy.. Hopefully tonite will go to the clinic.. Man its getting too sore..



Well, that was me at the library a few nights ago.. Hum.. Guess tommorow I'll head there back again.. Hopefully the Doc will give me a clenr bill of health..

Hum.. Fake tatto by one Miss Sonia.. Luv u dear!!

My first POST!!

Okay, so this would be my first post.. As such I think it would only be sufficient that I post whats currently foremost on my mind.. Yup.. It has something to do with the law.. This is something I'm reading for class.. Judicial Review.. Do we need judicial review? and if so.. What is it's importance.. Well, a brief intro on judicial review:

Judicial Review is one form of judicial control on the administration. This area looks at the general principles applied by the superior in reviewing the actions, inactions, and the decisions taken by the administration bodies. It was designed to protect the citizens from arbitrary and unfair actions and decisions by powerful bodies that exercise functions of public law significance, thus ensuring the application of rule of law. Basically, its outcome is to determine whether in making a decision or taking an action, a ‘public body’ has acted ‘within its power’ and in accordance to common law standards of fairness. To satisfy a judicial review proceeding, certain requirements need to be fulfilled; it must be of a public nature, it must have a public significance of the offending decision/action, it must be initiated by a person who must have an interest (locus standi), and lastly it needs to be specific on which grounds it wants the judicial revue is sought. In the case of Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister of Civil Service the court laid down the criteria which includes: illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety on the grounds for which judicial review may be proceeded. Lastly, judicial review is very important as it plays a significant role in upholding the principles of ‘rule of law’ and ‘separation of powers’. The rule of law is important as it contains three main ideas: the supremacy of the law, the regulation of government power, and equality before the law. This concept is vital as it entails equal protection for all its citizens, including against arbitrary state action and ensures that all citizens are subject to law. As for separation of powers, it is a doctrine where the individual organs of the government are controlled from imposing its powers upon the other organs. Separation of powers deals with the overlap in the spheres of power within a government. As such, it lays down the fundamental rule that each organ of the government should not be given unlimited or excessive powers, as it might lead towards the abuse of power.

In Malaysia there is no express provision that provides for judicial review. Most administrative statues have even to an extent been designed to remove judicial review. In the end what is left is that in certain statues judicial review is either to be totally removed or that is partially removed. What is left is up to the courts to decide as to what extent can there be judicial review. One must first seek leave from the court before one may bring an action with regards to judicial review. For an application to judicial review there are certain conditions that needs to be fulfilled. These conditions are: (a) the are of dispute must concern public law issues; (b) that the source of the decision/action against which the complaint is made must be a ‘public body’; (c) the application for the judicial review must concern a public law issue that is prima facie ‘justiciable’; (d) the court must recognise the applicant as having standing ‘locus standi’; (e) the standing of the individual or that of interest and pressure groups; (f) the time limit; (g) the successful applicant must have already exhausted all other avenues that statue may have already provided; (h) and finally, and most importantly, the applicant must at least seek one of the grounds which the court has deemed acceptable for the purpose of judicial review, i.e. illegality, irrationality, procedural impropriety.

As to the question in which the issue must arise, the courts have decided that it must concern public law. Thus one can see that in the case of Government of Malaysia v Loh Wai Kong the courts are able to extend or restrict the scope of review by deciding that a particular decision-maker is or is not within the public sphere. This can be seen in the case of Petaling Tin Bhd v Lee Kian Chan the court held that the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange is subject to judicial review when it exercise its disciplinary powers over its members. Another situation is that of a decision made by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers under the Companies Act 1965.

Another condition that is related to the above is that the source of the decision/action is made by a ‘public body’. In determining whether a body is public or not the court will look into its function, and from there to whether it have public law consequences. The test is thus; ‘if the body in question did not exist would some government department assume its responsibilities’. Thus, in the case of R v City Panel of Takeovers and Mergers ex parte Datafin Ltd, the City Panel of Takeovers and Mergers was considered a ‘public body’ even though it was established on a voluntary basis. By contrast, one could look into the case of R v Disciplinary Committee of the Jockey Club ex parte Aga Khan, in which the court held that the relationship between horse-owners and the Jockey Club held no public law significance.

Next is the question on whether the public law issue is, prima facie, justiciable. As such certain matter are excluded from judicial review because they are matters of public policy. In Malaysia a good example is that of the refusal of courts to review decisions based on national security. On this one can see that in relation to preventive detention cases the courts have refused to review the detention orders. A similar attitude can be seen towards emergency proclamations under Article 150. The courts in both instances refuse to review the executive decisions on the grounds of national security and they further state that as the executive, which alone has all the necessary evidence, is the best judge on the matter. This policy has further gone to decisions related to the administration of justice. Thus, in the case of Superintendent of Pudu Prison v Sim Kie Chon the court held that the exercise of prerogative of mercy is not a justifiable matter. In the case of Chio Thiam Guan v Superintendent of Pudu Prison the court held that the decision by the Attorney General to transfer a criminal case from a lower court to the High Court was unfettered (free from restraint) and so beyond judicial review. It is surprising however that on occasion the courts have take a liberal view. This can be seen as the court where the grant and refusal of a passport was reviewable as held in the case of Government of Malaysia v Loh Wai Kong. In the case of JP Berthelsen v Director-General of Immigration the Supreme Court struck down an administrative order expelling a foreign correspondent within 24 hours’ notice and without any opportunity to the case against his expulsion to the government.

Another condition is that the applicant must have standing (locus standi). In short the applicant must have ‘a sufficient interest in the matter to which the applicant relates’. In R v Inland Revenue Commissioners ex parte National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Business, the ‘sufficient interest test’ was laid down by the courts in two stages: the first being when the applicant applied for judicial review and secondly on whether there was still sufficient interest during the judicial review proceedings. Thus, sufficient interest to initiate a judicial review is not enough one must still have interest during the proceedings itself. From this, two issues arises that being the standing of an individual and that from interest and pressure groups. On the first issue, the courts will always recognised the sufficient interest in a case where someone’s personal rights and interest are allegedly directly affected by a public decision/action as can be seen in the case of Schmidt v Secretary of State for Home Affairs. The courts may also find sufficient interest if an individual were to challenge a public decision/action that allegedly harms the whole of society as can be seen in the case of R v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ex parte Rees-Mogg. The court will always find that there is sufficient interest when organisations challenge administrative decisions which may affect their members individually as in the case of R v Liverpool Corporation ex parte Liverpool Taxi Fleet Operators’ Association. The court may also find sufficient interest where the organisation such as Greenpeace, which had several thousand members and experts that are united in a specific course seek to challenge a decision with serious environmental consequences as in the case of R v Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Greenpeace Ltd. which sought judicial review as to constructing a nuclear processing plant near a national park.

A time limit may also be imposed to ensure that there are no excessive delays in matters of emergency. The usually time limit if not statutorily provided is said to be from three based from English cases though the courts have extended such time with reasons it deems fit. In the case of Smith v East Elloe Rural District Council the court enforced the time limitations strictly.

Another prerequisite is that the applicant has already exhausted all other alternative remedies that statue may have foreseen such as that of appeals. But, the exception is that judicial review may still be granted even if the alternative remedial proceedings have not been exhausted due to delays in the relevant processes.

Lastly, the final condition that needs to be fulfilled is that the applicant must seek judicial review on one of the grounds that the courts has deemed acceptable for the purpose of judicial review. These grounds could be illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety as laid down by the court in the case of Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister of Civil Service.

It is interesting to note the existence of ‘ouster clauses’ where an Act of parliament or that of a subsidiary act through delegated legislation is made with a clause stating that such actions made through it is immune to judicial scrutiny. In the seminal case of Anisminic v Foreign Compensation Commission the relevant Act provided that the decision made by the public body named Foreign Compensation Commission ‘shall not be questioned’. But, the courts held in the above case that its jurisdiction was limited by the statue’s words only if the decision in question had been reached ‘correctly’, which was not the case. It is further seen in this case that if the judges are determined to the reach the rule of law, the can even do so in the face of relatively clear words that Parliament does not intend judicial review to take place.

Well, looks complicated.. bored me to hell.. but hey.. if u want to do well u gotta just keep ur head-on rite.. anyway.. see you guys around.. Gtg to the library..