Dr M confirms govt will set up RCI on judicial misconduct

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has agreed to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) over the recent allegations of judicial misconduct, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad (pic).

"We are setting up the RCI and it's up to them to look into the allegations made by the judge," said Dr Mahathir after visiting the Ministry of Defence on Thursday.

Asked about the terms of reference, Dr Mahathir said that matter hadn't been decided on yet.

"We will set up the RCI and the terms will be determined later," he added.

Recently, Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer filed a 65-page affidavit in court in support of an application by the late Karpal Singh’s daughter, Sangeet Singh Deo, to declare the Chief Justice had failed to defend the integrity of the judiciary in two cases.

Hamid claimed that the scam was carried out by nominees of politicians getting into contracts with the government.

Once the government pulled out, the private parties would take the government to court to claim compensation.

The private parties created contracts with the government to defraud public funds and the apex court was perceived to be sympathetic to them, he said.