The elevation of Federal Court judge Zaki Azmi to Court of Appeal president is a retrogressive step and will not help clean up the tainted image of the judiciary, PKR vice-president R Sivarasa said today.

"Zaki’s appointment is a retrogressive step because he was a lawyer who had a close relationship with Umno," he told a press conference at party headquarters this morning.

"It is public knowledge that his success as a private lawyer was related to Umno."

Yesterday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that Zaki would take over the post vacated by Abdul Hamid Mohamad, who has been confirmed as the new chief justice (CJ).

Abdul Hamid's appointment was backdated to Nov 1, when he was made acting CJ, while Zaki's term of office will be decided later.

However, Sivarasa stressed that the appointments do not resolve the problem of how the judiciary is no longer seen as a credible institution.

Exactly three months ago, Zaki became the first lawyer to be directly appointed into the Federal Court, leapfrogging the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

He previously served as Umno’s legal adviser and disciplinary committee chairperson. He was also the party’s selection committee secretary and deputy chairperson of the disciplinary board appeal panel.

He stepped down from these posts in 2005 following his divorce from his second wife, Nor Hayati Yahaya.

‘No political will’

Abdul Hamid succeeds Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who retired on Nov 1 under a cloud of controversy linked to the Lingam tape despite an indirect denial of involvement.

Sivarasa criticised the government for not having the political will to set up a royal commission of inquiry to look into the scandals revealed on Sept 19 by the Lingam tape.

"Even though the cabinet has met several times, there has been no announcement about the commission. Why is there a delay? It looks like there is no political will to solve this problem," he said.

"We urge the government to (immediately) set up a royal commission with credible members and the widest terms of reference possible."

On Nov 16, Abdullah announced that a royal commission would be formed based on the findings of the three-member panel it had earlier appointed to investigate the affair.

However, the composition and terms of reference for the commission have yet to be announced by the prime minister.