Following ‘mother of all judicial scandals’.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) co-founder Latheefa Koya has urged the government to immediately table a Constitutional Amendment Bill to remove all influence of the prime minister and executive in judicial appointments.
“It is a simple amending bill, it can be brought and passed in the session of Parliament commencing in a few weeks’ time. The new amendment must be the absolute priority in this coming session of Parliament. Nothing else will assuage public concern and anger,” she said in a statement.
Her call follows the leak of what appears to be the minutes of a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) meeting, which she described as the “mother of all judicial scandals.”
Malaysiakini reported last night that an alleged excerpt of the May JAC meeting minutes was leaked online. The classified document appears to mirror allegations in a police report lodged in June by a senior judge, citing judicial interference by certain parties.
Latheefa said the leak has left Malaysians “shocked and horrified.”
“It confirms what everyone has already long guessed: executive interference in the judiciary. All the repeated denials and claims of correctly following the procedures laid down in the Constitution are lies.
“The contents of the leaked document have now unleashed the mother of all judicial scandals. It cannot be put back in the bottle; it is out, and the public has seen it. Public confidence in the judicial institution will plummet as a consequence,” she said.
Latheefa held Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his administration “fully responsible for this disaster.”
“Can we ever trust this government to safeguard the integrity of the independent institutions of the country?” she asked.
She stressed that the only way to restore public trust is to table a constitutional amendment that “entirely removes the power of the prime minister or the executive in the appointment of judges.”
“If this prime minister and this government will not table this bill, then the only conclusion must be that they are unfit to govern this nation,” she added.
Latheefa also called for a full, independent, and transparent investigation into the “shocking allegations” contained in the leaked minutes.