COMMENT | At the time of writing, the king has not made any announcement on top judicial appointments, but whatever they are, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needs to answer six key questions over his lapses.

The first thing to establish before asking the questions is who appoints the judges. The Federal Constitution is clear. The relevant Article 122B (1) is reproduced verbatim below:

“The chief justice of the Federal Court, the president of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Judges of the High Courts and (subject to Article 122C) the other judges of the Federal Court, of the Court of Appeal and of the High Courts shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, acting on the advice of the prime minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers.”

PM decides, king appoints

It is the PM who decides and the king who appoints after consulting the rulers. Anwar’s assertion that it is the king and the rulers who decide is...