Court of Appeal Judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, who had made allegations of judicial misconduct, has reportedly been suspended by the Judges’ Ethics Committee (JEC).
A report by Free Malaysia Today said the committee has suspended him from today until Aug 27 when the judge is due to retire.
“The JEC chairman said they are satisfied that the complaints were proven and that Datuk Hamid is suspended from the office from today until Aug 27,” Hamid’s lawyer Wilson Joy Appukuttan was quoted as saying.
The report said he is the first judge to be suspended since the Judges’ Ethics Committee Act 2010 came into effect.
In February 2019, Hamid had filed an affidavit claiming abuses and fraud in the judiciary. A substantial part of the affidavit has since been expunged.
The then Pakatan Harapan government had considered a setting up a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the claims, but the attorney-general at the time Tommy Thomas said this did not materialise due objections by judges.
In the meantime, the JEC began disciplinary proceedings against Hamid and slapped him with a show-cause letter in August 2020.
He had been told to explain the affidavit where he, among others, alleged that certain judges had intervened in high-profile cases.
He was also told to explain a judgment in which he had remarked that the courts should ensure the Federal Constitution is not amended against public interest and fundamental liberties.
According to Office of the Chief Registrar’s website, Hamid was appointed as a judicial commissioner on March 1, 2007, and elevated to high court judge on Oct 1, 2009.
He served at the Kuala Lumpur High Court since his elevation until Jan 7, 2013, when he was elevated to the Court of Appeal. – Malaysiakini