MCA calls for tribunal to investigate alleged judicial misconduct

PETALING JAYA: A tribunal to investigate alleged misconduct within the judiciary should be set up, says the MCA civil society movement bureau.

Its chief Ng Kian Nam said this in response to the Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat's statement that an internal probe into Court of Appeal judge Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer's affidavit – claiming the misconduct – was halted as the police were conducting an investigation into the matter.

"The MCA civil society movement bureau can not help but feel alarmed with Tengku Maimun's revelation that the judicial probe into Judge Hamid's affidavit had been suspended due to police intervention.

"Allowing the law enforcement unit to lead investigations into Judge Hamid's affidavit alleging judicial misconduct jeopardises our existing trias politica (separation of powers) model," said Ng in a statement on Monday (Jan 6).

He said that a separation of powers was to safeguard the country's judicial independence and Tengku Maimun should seek the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's consent to set up a tribunal to look into the allegation.

"To protect Malaysian judicial independence and dignity; to be free from the deliberate intervention and delay from the executive branch, Tengku Maimum should invoke Article 125(3) of the Federal Constitution which bestows upon her the prerogative to consult Prime Minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) and request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a tribunal to investigate the alleged judicial misconduct.

"In addition to a failure to make good on their promise for judicial reforms, including a promise to separate the office of the Attorney General (who is the principal legal adviser to the government) from the Public Prosecutor, the Pakatan Harapan government continues to abuse existing draconian laws and judiciary procedures to suppress associations and personal freedoms," he said.

Judge Hamid had last year (2019) in an affidavit claimed that there were many instances of judicial interference within the country's judiciary – which included the alleged judicial interference in the late lawyer and politician Karpal Singh's sedition appeal decision at the Court of Appeal.

The affidavit was filed in support of lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo's suit to call for an investigation into alleged judicial misconduct and to ask for a declaration that then-chief justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum had failed to defend the integrity of the judiciary.