Date : 15 July 2024
Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) calls upon the Madani Government to commit to nominating candidates for the four top positions in Judiciary, namely the Chief Justice of Malaysia, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of Malaya and the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak, from within the Judiciary and not from the current Attorney General Chambers (AGC).
Projek SAMA views with grave concern the speculation that Attorney General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh would be appointed as Federal Court judge to subsequently assume the office of the Chief Justice of Malaya.
Projek SAMA warns Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim that this move may deliver the third most serious blow on the public trust and credibility of the Judiciary after the 1988 Constitutional Crisis and the 2002 Lingam “correct! correct! correct!” Video Clip (exposed in 2007). The Government must learn from history and avoid repeating it.
While Article 123 of the Federal Constitution allows any citizen who has been practising law for 10 years either as a lawyer or a member of the judicial or legal services to be appointed as a judge of any level, Projek SAMA believes the appointment to the top echelon of the Judiciary from the top echelon of the AGC should be avoided, especially before the separation of AGCs and Public Prosecution.
Currently, the AGC is controlled by the Executive from the top and as legal counsel of the Government, the Attorney General (AG) is a political office even if the office holder is not a politician. Appointing a former AG to the Federal Court risks introducing the Executive’s influence to the bench, or very least, creating such perception to affect public trust of the Judiciary.
A case in point is that Datuk Terrirudin Mohd Salleh applied for Discharge Not Amounting to Acquittal (DNAA) for Deputy Prime Minster Dato Sri Zahid Hamid who faced 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and corruption after the prima facie case had been established.
Even though the decision was allegedly made by his predecessor Tan Sri Idrus Azizan Harun, Datuk Terrirudin Mohd Salleh played a key political role in getting the number 2 of the Executive off the defendant’s stand.
He also sat on the Federal Territory Board of Pardon which controversially commuted 1MDB corruption convict Najib Razak’s 8-year jail term by half and fine from RM 210million to a mere RM 50 million.
What public image would our Judiciary have if he eventually rises to be the Chief Judge of Malaya, the President of the Court of Appeal or even the Chief Justice of Malaysia?
Would the Malaysian public trust the court to be impartial when a panel of judges led by or including him preside over any case involving Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for whom he applied DNAA over 47 judges or corruption convict Najib Razak who received a 50% discount in jail term and 76% discount in fine from the board of pardon which he sat in?
Set up in 2009 after the Lingam scandal, the Judicial Appointment Commission is tasked to select candidates for judge appointment before their recommendation by the Prime Minister for the appointment by the YDPA. However, there are still concerns, among others, over the PM’s power to ignore or reject the candidates shortlisted by JAC.
Projek SAMA urges Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to both respect the recommendations made by the Judicial Appointment Commission and commit to promoting senior judges from within the Judiciary when talents are aplenty, and to commence a review of the Judicial Appointments Act 2009 to ensure the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of the government, in particular where judge appointment at all levels is concerned.
Projek SAMA refers to research report by Bersih titled “Safeguarding Judicial Independence: Appointment, Promotion and Removal of Judges in Malaysia” and reiterates the recommendations needed. See report : https://www.bersih.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Bersih-Policy-Research-Safeguarding-Judicial-Independence.pdf
Issued by:
Projek SAMA
