Judges must not be afraid to assert their independence in order to be respected, even in the face of a "powerful" executive, said retired Court of Appeals judge Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus.

"Judges must be courageous and assert their independence. What do the judges want? Do they want to be respected or do they want to be looked down upon by the citizens?

"It is true that there's a powerful executive to contend with, (which) has the power of appointment, promotion, and even the removal of judges, as shown in the cases of Salleh Abbas, Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh, and George Seah," he said in a public forum titled 'Whither the Federal Constitution – Do fundamental and minority rights matter?' organised by the Bar Council in Kuala Lumpur today.