16. Today's Short Takes

1. Judges who misbehave to face tribunal

Judges who behave inappropriately in and outside the courtroom will be removed through a tribunal.

Describing them as “not useful to the judiciary”, Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said bad behaviour by judges included “mixing a lot with corporate people”, being biased, consistently not writing grounds for judgment and being very moody and highly temperamental in court.

“Many factors are taken into consideration before a judge is promoted. We consider not only whether he wrote his grounds of decision, but whether he has cleared a lot of cases or not.

“Also important is whether his judicial temperament is still maintained, such as he does not shout and yell at people in public,” the top judge said when approached by reporters after launching the “Ahmad Ibrahim: Thoughts and Knowledge Contribution” seminar yesterday - The Star.


2. Ban on Night Express Buses

Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has asked the Transport Ministry to ban night express bus service following the number of accidents involving express bus service, including the country’s worst on Aug 13 in Bukit Gantang which claimed 22 lives - NST.


3. Mercenary Attitude of Players

It's a worrying trend when players play beyond themselves in tournaments carrying attractive prize money and yet go out with a whimper in events when the pride of the nation is at stake like the just ended World Championships.

Doubles coach Rexy Mainaky is concerned about this unhealthy trend and intends to change all that.

Coming on the back of another pitiful performance in the World Championships, Rexy said that for starters, the participation of his pairs in super series events will be based on their form in training and will not hesitate to put players in cold storage if they don’t buck-up.

The coach did not waste any time and yesterday, put his players through three training sessions instead of the usual two in order to put to good use the ample free time the players have - NST.


4. Indian 'terror' doctor wins visa case

An Australian court on Tuesday overturned a government decision to cancel the visa of an Indian doctor who was charged over failed car bombings in Britain, Australian media reported.

In a setback for the government, the Federal Court in Brisbane restored Mohamed Haneef's visa, opening the way for him to return to Australia.

Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo said the court ruling had restored his client's life and career, and urged Immigation Minister Kevin Andrews not to appeal the decision - AFP.