COMMENT It is a widely accepted belief that the emasculation of the judicial branch of government in Malaysia began with the impeachment and removal from office of the chief judge of the country Salleh Abbas in 1988.

The entire process of his impeachment and sacking is writ in infamy in the annals of the third estate; the 22-year premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during which the Salleh sacking occurred, is forever stained by the memory of that disgrace.

In a way, the frustration felt by Mahathir is his now year-long attempt to remove Najib Abdul Razak from office for what is seen as impeachable offences - the unsatisfactorily explained lodging of a donation of RM2.5 billion in the prime minister’s personal bank accounts and his supposed mishandling of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB - are the wages for Mahathir’s sin in sacking Salleh for faults comparatively trivial in comparison to Najib’s alleged transgressions.