In her message at a conference for the judiciary last month, Tengku Maimun acknowledged that the JAC was far from perfect.
She also issued what appeared to be a veiled warning against any outside interference in the appointment of judges and added that any form of circumvention of the law “would render those appointments (of judges) either unconstitutional or in breach of written law”.
“For this reason, no person, whether it be the president of the Malaysian Bar, any advocate or solicitor, any political party, the Attorney General, or any other person for that matter, has any business recommending names to the PM for appointment,” she said at the opening of the legal year on Jan 8.
Responding to her speech on Jan 23, nine former presidents of the Malaysian Bar said the country’s current administration falls behind its past three governments when it comes to valuing and respecting judicial independence.
Government-elected representatives are also calling for a revamp of the JAC Act.
Ramkarpal Singh, a Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party, which is a coalition partner in Anwar’s government, said there was a need to overhaul the selection process of judges. He also wants the provision allowing the prime minister to reject recommendations made by the JAC to be scrapped.
“The JAC appointments process needs urgent reform to ensure that the perception of executive influence in appointing judges is eliminated,” said Ramkarpal, a former deputy law minister, as quoted by the local media.
MALAYSIA’S JUDICIARY AT CROSSROADS, SOME SAY
Lawyers and retired judges noted that Malaysia’s judiciary is at a crossroads.
“Any move to appoint someone who is junior and who was parachuted in would send a bad signal to the institution and investors. It would be dialing back to the dark years,” noted a retired jurist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, of the widening speculation that Terrirudin could be promoted to the top judicial job.
The so-called “dark years” refer to the jousting between former premier Mahathir Mohamad and the judiciary in 1988 when Mahathir sacked the then-top jurist Salleh Abas and dismissed two other Federal Court judges who held court hearings to defend their brother judge.
The late Salleh’s dismissal came after he claimed Mahathir was meddling in the judiciary by coming up with amendments to curtail its powers.
At the time, the judiciary was widely considered to be relatively independent.
