Chief Justice confident of PM Anwar's commitment to uphold judicial independence

The Star

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has expressed her confidence that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would continue to uphold judicial independence.  She said this in her speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2025 as she spoke of judicial appointments and the 1988 judicial crisis.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/mr3a7t8m  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00Prior to 2009, the judicial process was rather simplistic in the sense that it was only based

00:07on a few provisions of the Constitution. Without getting too technical, when it comes to the

00:13appointment of ordinary Superior Court judges, the Prime Minister tenders his advice to the

00:19Yang di-Pertuan Agong upon consulting the Chief Justice and after conferring with the

00:26Conference of Rulers. This process underwent a radical shift in 2009 with the introduction

00:33of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 which established the Judicial Appointments

00:39Commission or it is most commonly referred to JAC. What I am about to share with you next

00:48are not my personal views but actual discussions that took place in the Dewan Rakyat regarding the

00:55passing of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009. The need for the Judicial Appointments

01:01Commission Act 2009 were grounded on many allegations and attacks against the government.

01:08Pertinently, many members of the opposition appeared to express the sentiment that the

01:14introduction of the bill to the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 was merely a

01:20cover-up for all the past appointments that had been made. I invite each and every one of you

01:27to scrutinize the handset for 16 December 2008 and 17 December 2008. Most of all, I find relevant

01:37the views of the then recently appointed Leader of the Opposition and current Prime Minister of

01:43Malaysia, Datuk Sri Anwar bin Ibrahim, who expressed strong views on the VK Linggom incident.

01:50Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim concluded then that the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009,

01:56in his view, was not enough to restore the independence of the judiciary.

02:02He went on to observe that there is a perception that persons who had decided in favour of the

02:08government were promoted. Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim's observation then relates directly

02:16to the fundamental aspect of judicial independence in that perception plays a big part in it.

02:24The public cannot be expected to have confidence in the judicial institution,

02:29no matter how hard its judges work. If the pervading public perception is that judges

02:36are appointed or elevated upon the favour of making decisions that by default support the

02:43government of certain business interests. When things like this happen, it is very similar to,

02:49if not worse than, the lessons in the children's parable of the boy who cried wolf. Crying wolf

02:56wantonly could backfire when no one believes you when the wolf actually arrives to eat the sheep.

03:03Apply it to us, making the irredeemable mistake of rendering one decision coloured with bias

03:11or appointing one candidate that is only chosen as a favour throws into question the integrity

03:18of the entire judiciary and none of the decisions delivered after that will engender the public

03:24confidence and trust, even if that decision is absolutely correct on the facts and the law.

03:32From 1988, it is only now that we are on the road to recovery in terms of our perception

03:39of independence. Incidentally, 15 years ago, when the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009

03:47was enforced, the then leader of the opposition made the comments that he did as reflected in

03:53the Hansard on the appointment of judges and judicial independence. I am certain that now,

04:00as Prime Minister, Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim and his government will remain true to those comments

04:08by continuing to unreservedly remain committed to upholding the cause of judicial independence.

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