COMMENT | Party's over, now focus on CJ's replacement

COMMENT | The red carpet was rolled out in Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro to welcome Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on his three-nation tour to improve bilateral relations and boost trade.

But as soon as he set foot in Rome, on July 1, dark clouds were already gathering over Putrajaya.

At the heart of the matter was the public outrage over the apparent lack of urgency by the PM, to name the replacement of the now-retired chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

To make matters worse, Anwar’s absence on the day she retired only invited criticism that he was avoiding the backlash by being overseas.

Never before has the Madani administration looked more unstable, and Anwar’s failure of leadership intensely scrutinised.

If a suitable candidate had yet to be decided, then surely the six-month extension to the CJ’s tenure would have provided ample breathing space.

We’ll never know if the cackhanded manner in which the Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim became the acting CJ was just another Madani knee-jerk reaction to a hostile public response.

Anwar returned yesterday to face growing public anger ranging from the opposition to members of his own party, from the Malaysian Bar to Bersih, and from the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who, in an unprecedented move, issued a royal statement urging Malaysians to stop politicising the judicial appointments.

So, what are the reasons for Anwar’s failure to present to the king the name of the CJ’s successor? Had the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) failed to make their short-list? Had Anwar disagreed with their suggestions? Or was the stumbling block. -the king - who had his reasons for rejecting the name(s)?

Or, once the king had decided, did the Conference of Rulers then object?

Promise yet to be fulfilled

Didn’t the Anwar of a few years ago, when he was leader of the opposition, impress upon us that if he were to be made prime minister, his administration would be transparent and we, the rakyat, would not be left in the dark? We have yet to see this promise being fulfilled.

If Anwar was really serious about reform, he would take on board Tengku Maimun’s suggestion, and perhaps salvage a bit of his reputation.

Last April, when she was in Malta for the 24th Commonwealth Law Conference, Tengku Maimun gave a speech in which she urged the removal of the PM in making judicial appointments.

She said that this would “...reinforce the impartiality of the selection process, ensuring that judicial appointments remain firmly grounded on merit and free from any perception of political influence.”

Naturally, Umno-Baru’s Nazri Abdul Aziz grabbed the wrong end of the stick and displayed to perfection, the Malaysian art of ampu-bodek (currying favour).

The former law minister described Tengku Maimun’s remarks as “unprofessional” before accusing her of shaming Malaysia, for implying that Anwar had meddled in judicial affairs. He demanded stern action to punish her for tarnishing Anwar's image.

Worse was to follow, when Nazri told The Scoop that Tengku Maimun’s tenure had not been extended, because of her speech at Malta. He claimed her mistake was that she failed to voice her concerns privately.

Unsurprisingly, Nazri will forever remain a two-bit politician-cum-lawyer with his outdated Umno-Baru lack-of-transparency methodology, unlike the fearless, principled and upright Tengku Maimun who, upon retirement, would probably be head-hunted by the Commonwealth or other global body, to advise them on legal matters.

Confused mixed messages

Another worrying development was the confused mixed messages from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, defending the PM’s remarks about the judiciary.

On June 30, Anwar said that he had not interfered in judicial appointments, but when the AGC said that “the PM can ignore the Judicial Appointments Committee’s (JAC) recommendations for the sake of ‘protecting’ the judiciary,” what does this suggest?

On one hand, the AGC is stressing the PM’s right to interfere, but this contrasts sharply with the PM’s remarks, when he had claimed non-interference. Why the contradictory messages?

Moreover, why was the AGC acting as if he were the PM’s spokesperson? The AGC is in charge of the legal business of the government. He is not the PM’s personal mouthpiece.

To add to Anwar's woes, the Malaysian Bar has organised a march from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister's Office on July 14, to submit a memorandum containing four urgent demands on judicial independence.

Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, now an ordinary backbencher, has added his voice to the simmering discontent.

Together with eight other PKR backbenchers, he has demanded an RCI to get at the truth. He fears that this crisis could be bad as the VK Lingam video tape scandal of 2007, about fixing the appointment and promotion of judges.

It is also alarming, that with several PKR politicians openly expressing dissent, the newly installed deputy president of PKR, Nurul Izzah, has remained extraordinarily quiet.

Surely, it is within her remit to rein in the dissenters, while her father was overseas?

Concerned public

Malaysians are concerned. Tengku Maimun and her team’s stellar efforts to act without fear or favour to implement the law, in the past six years, have restored our faith in the judiciary, especially after the damaging judicial crisis of 1988 and VK Lingam scandal of 2007.

The failure to fill the CJ and other senior judges’ posts has made a mockery of all her efforts. Are we to return to the bad old days of when we mistrusted the judiciary?

More importantly, foreign governments will view unfavourably the attacks on the judiciary and how easily we dismiss the supreme law of the land, the Constitution, which lies at the heart of our democracy.

At a time when we need to rebuild our economy, attract foreign investors, and present a successful democracy to the outside world, our politicians decide to play politics with the judiciary. How self-defeating!

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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