Mahathir should demonstrate his bona fide by giving details about the "boot camp for judges" which were held during his premiership to indoctrinate judges to be servile and subservient to the government-of-the-day

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has declared that he is prepared to be investigated over allegations he had interfered with the judiciary when he was prime minister.

He said he was not afraid of being investigated and would give his full assistance to the police.

Malaysians hope that Mahathir is sincere and truthful in pledging full co-operation in any such investigation and that he would not do another repeat of the Lingam Videotape Royal Commission of Inquiry where he pleaded a massive attack of loss of his famous elephant memory!

Mahathir should demonstrate his bona fide in wanting the truth about the two decades of judicial darkness to be told and that he has fully recovered his elephant memory by giving details about the "boot camp for judges" which were held during his premiership to indoctrinate judges to be servile and subservient to the government-of-the-day.

The "boot camp for judges" were first revealed by High Court judge Justice Datuk Ian Chin when he revealed that a month after the April 1997 judges' conference where Mahathir expressed unhappiness over Chin's decision on a libel suit and an election petition and issued "a thinly veiled threat to remove judges by referring to the tribunal that was set up before", he was "packed off to boot camp with selected judges and judicial officers to be indoctrinated to hold the view that the government's interest was more important than all else when considering our judgements".

How many such "boot camps" to indoctrinate judges to be servile and subservient to the government were held during the last decade of Mahathir's 22-year premiership and who were the judges who aided and abetted in organising such "boot camps"?

* Lim Kit Siang,  DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor