00:01Lawyers for Liberty has rubbish claims of judicial interference after a former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak said that a top judge pressured him to rule in favor of a litigant in a constitutional case against the federal government.
00:13Abdul Rahman Sebli, who retired last Thursday, claimed in his farewell speech that a very senior member of the judiciary had emailed him, criticizing his interpretation of the constitutional issue at hand.
00:24In a statement today, LFL advisor and Surendran said such accusations were plainly wrong and defy logic, particularly as the senior judge in question was part of the seven-member federal court panel hearing the case.
00:38Surendran said unless someone outside the bench, such as from the executive, tried to influence the decision, it did not qualify as interference.
00:45He argued that there was nothing sinister about judges on multi-judge panels discussing cases and circulating draft judgments to persuade colleagues.
00:55Surendran also said it was strange that a now-former federal court judge was making a complaint that he was affected by peer pressure, adding that federal court judges enjoy security of tenure and constitutional protection.
01:07While acknowledging that judicial interference was a serious concern, Surendran warned against diluting its meaning.
