FEBRUARY 17 ― Blimey, we just had another blockbuster of a revelation! An appeals court justice submitted a 63-page affidavit accusing his senior colleagues of serious impropriety. Whether we organise an RCI or not, the urgency to commence a thorough probe must be launched pronto.

I have received text praising this justice for his courageous judicial decisions, and also some accusing him of being acrimonious because he wasn’t elevated to the Federal bench. Well, he has "bitten the bullet”, so the show must begin.

On the PDRM working trip to Turkey. The trip organiser was a mite cavalier in displaying their tour organising prowess hence creating the impression that the police was on a junket. And the fact that some members were a few short months from retirement spun it a little more.

The Totalisator Board sponsorship wouldn’t compromise PDRM’s professionalism even one bit as the Board is not in the active gaming business. It collects mandatory commissions from all bets placed in races. Anyhow, this episode should be a wake-up call for the Board to use the hefty collections strictly for social/charity/education purposes.

I’m sure the PDRM knows full well this trip was a disaster in so far as public perceptions are concerned.

Of the dozens of institutional reform initiatives paraded by the Pakatan Harapan coalition, my dearest would be the repeal of the Sedition Act (1948), and the complete absence of political considerations in the appointment of the members of Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the Election Commission (EC).

Tun Mahathir administration, take heart that it is the composition of these critical commissions that maketh their worth.

We have more than a few good women, and men who are honest, think well and have moral courage. Let them help pave the way for these values to be embedded.

Oh yes, the MP who famously proposed in parliament (2017) that rapists be compelled to marry victims and also opined that even nine-year olds on the onset of puberty be allowed to marry hasn’t ridden into the sunset yet. He was re-elected in GE14 and was among the latest former Umno members to be admitted into PBBM.

Obviously he can’t think he made an obnoxious proposal. In fact he believed it was a perfect remedy as in the marriage, victims receive rehabilitation and perpetrators pay the consequence! And I suppose when guys wed nine, ten or eleven-year olds, they relieve the parents of child maintenance without knowing how the pre-teen brides will turn out as adults. These grooms do take immense risks, don’t they?

The MP was a former shariah judge.

It is overdue that we treat nominees for general elections and all governance positions with much more seriousness. Being level headed and honest supersedes any other criteria, whether academic or simply winnable.

* Datuk Lee Yew Meng is the CEO/ED of Genovasi Malaysia Sdn Bhd which operates d.school Malaysia and Genovasi University College.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.