Shahril: Harapan's judicial independence pledge questionable

The results of the special task force's probe on Tommy Thomas' book have allegedly exposed Pakatan Harapan's failure to keep its promise of maintaining judicial independence, said Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan.

In a statement today, Shahril (above) said the report had spelt out that the prime minister and the attorney-general could not recommend judicial appointments from a list that was not prepared by the Judicial Appoints Committee (JAC).

Instead, said Shahril, the task force had accused Thomas of acting suspiciously in the appointment of top judges after July 2018.

"However, Harapan won the 2018 election based on promises to improve governance, reducing opportunities for abuse of power, reducing interference in the judiciary and others.

"Now, it is clear that they have failed and lied," said Shahril.

"Clearly, the procedure and laws made during the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration to strengthen the judiciary and separation of power between the executive and judiciary have been pushed aside."

Shahril alleged that Harapan was singing the same tune in the lead-up to the upcoming election and urged voters not to believe them again.

Declassified report

The cabinet set up the task force last year to probe Thomas’ book titled ‘My Story: Justice in the Wilderness’ which documented his time as the attorney-general.

The task force’s report was declassified by the cabinet on Sept 30 and made available last night.

Among others, the task force recommended that the government amend Section 5(1)(f) of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009.

This is to prohibit the prime minister from advising the Agong on the appointment of any person to judicial offices in superior courts who are not selected and recommended by the Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC).

The law should also prevent the prime minister from having a role in the appointment of four "eminent" members of the JAC.

The task force also recommended improvements to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission to prevent the attorney-general from being involved in the appointment of judicial officers.

Report on probe into Tommy Thomas book now viewable by public

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