The Barisan Alternatif has expressed its support for the Bar Council to hold an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the setting up of a tribunal to investigate the conduct of the Chief Justice Eusoff Chin.

In a statement e-mailed to malaysiakini today, Rustam Sani, the chairman for BA's bureau for media and information, said that the reputation the Malaysian judiciary suffered as a result of the revelations and criticisms of the Eusoff's conduct.

However, he stressed that the establishment of a tribunal to "investigate the conducts of the Chief Justice and other senior officers of the judiciary such as judges and the Attorney-General should not divert our attention away from the larger issue such as the flaws of the judicial institution as a whole".

"The institutional flaws have been adequately demonstrated by the conduct and outcome of a number of landmark trials in the last few years," he said, adding that those cases have been well documented in reports such as "Justice in Jeopardy: Malaysia 2000". ("[#1] Malaysia's judiciary attacked by international law bodies[/#] ", April 7)

Rustam said that the tribunal investigating the Chief Justice should be regarded only as "a part of the larger investigation". He added that there is nothing legally contemptuous or politically seditious in the initiative of the Bar Council.

"The inaction and acquiescence on the part of the Bar Council would constitute an act contemptuous of justice and seditious against democracy," he said.

Meanwhile, the DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock reiterated its call for the setting up of a tribunal to investigate Eusoff's conduct.

He also urged the Chief Justice to step down from his position pending the investigation.

Kerk also criticised Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement yesterday in which the Prime Minister said he saw "no need for a tribunal", on arrival at the KLIA after a week-long visit to Japan.

"The Prime Minister's announcement that he saw no need for a tribunal to be set up is most disappointing, and his reasons for rejecting such a proposal is even most shocking," Kerk said.

Yesterday, Mahathir described the Bar Council's proposal as "unnecessary and smacking of double standard". He said there seems to be "an attempt to remove someone from his post as Chief Justice".

"The Prime Minister 's claim that this is an attempt to remove someone from his post as Chief Justice is shocking as this tantamounts to prejudging the case," Kerk said.

According to Kerk, the Prime Minister should know that very serious allegations have been made against the Chief Justice and the tribunal or a Royal Commission of Inquiry will allow the Chief Justice the opportunity to clear himself.