Puad tells Bar to swap street protests with parliamentary parleys

Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi criticised the Malaysian Bar for holding their "Walk to Safeguard Judicial Independence" protest in Putrajaya, saying it was unbecoming of their image as legal practitioners.

In a statement today, Puad said the group should have taken a different approach instead, like calling for a meeting with the government, to voice out their concerns over an ongoing judicial scandal.

"It would be more beneficial if the Malaysian Bar held a dialogue with the government instead.

"Or hold a meeting with MPs so they can bring the issue to the Parliament for debate," he said.

Puad, who is the Johor state legislative assembly speaker, also called out the Malaysian Bar for allegedly being lopsided and selective of what they want to champion.

He questioned the group for having issues with the delay in appointing the country's next chief justice, but not on other matters that allegedly implicated the judiciary.

"You should also look into (Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak) Abdul Rahman Sebli's claim that Najib Abdul Razak did not receive a fair trial.

"I also heard that Tommy Thomas had participated in the protest. But did the Malaysian Bar hold any march when Thomas revealed in his memoir that the appointment of Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat (as chief justice) was itself controversial?" Puad asked.

The Malaysian Bar marched in Putrajaya yesterday in a bid to defend judicial integrity, amid deep concerns about judicial independence.

The group ended their rally after submitting a memorandum with four demands, namely filling top judicial vacancies, releasing minutes of a recent Judicial Appointments Commission meeting, forming a royal commission of inquiry to probe judicial interference, and addressing overall judicial vacancies.

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