Kuala Lampur, Oct. 18 -- In "Courts are final arbiter of issues related to fundamental liberties", written more than two years ago, I referred to the erudite judgment of Lord President Salleh Abas in the case of Lim Kit Siang v Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad [1987] where the head of the judiciary said as follows:

"The courts have a constitutional function to perform and they are the guardian of the Constitution within the terms and structure of the Constitution itself; they not only have the power of construction and interpretation of legislation but also the power of judicial review - a concept that pumps through the arteries of every constitutional adjudication and which does not imply the superiority of judges over legislators but of t...