Summons to a witness...

“Keep in mind that people change, but the past doesn't…” - Becca Fitzpatrick

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In the mid-eighties, when I was still a junior officer in my old department, I was often called to the court to be the expert witness on exchange rates. I was frequented by officers from the police department and sometimes, from the Jabatan Kastam to get a statement from me by virtue of my position as the officer in-charge. My boss then, being quite a man of the nation now, in his own manner and candor would pass all cases to me.

‘ you’re the expert in foreign exchange, mesti boleh jawab soalan2 lawyer tu. Kalau tak boleh jawab, kelentong je… he he…’

The first time I stood in the ‘kandang saksi’ I was shivering from head to toes and couldn’t comprehend what had been asked. I mumbled my answers and all I heard towards the end of my testimonial was, ‘Puan telah dibebaskan dari menjadi saksi….’ I was overladen with gratitude, as if I was the accused being freed of all charges, and muttering expression of thanks in at least several languages to the judge.

The story did not just end there. In my present department I was often subpoenaed as an expert witness – incidentally, nothing to do with exchange rates any more. The past two weeks in a row, I have been traveling up and down the hi-way, sometimes to Bentong and at times to Kuala Kubu Baru to attend the court cases. And just now my officer handed me the familiar blue slip of paper and cheekily said:

‘Puan telah disaman supaya hadir di hadapan Mahkamah Majistret di Tapah pada sekian-sekian haribulan he he…’

Such is the not so straightforward nature of the physical and psychological make-up of my job.