Safeguarding Judicial Independence – the work continues

TWO weeks ago, Malaysia’s legal community reached a tipping point when lawyers, led by the Malaysian Bar Council, embarked on a 2.6km “Walk to Safeguard Judicial Independence.” Clad in black and armed with a 65-page memorandum, they pressed the Prime Minister’s Office to curb executive overreach in judicial appointments.

At the heart of their grievances was the abrupt decision to deny six-month tenure extensions to three of the judiciary’s most senior figures – former Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan – as each approached the constitutionally mandated retirement age of 66.