It was not an easy three hours for de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim who was grilled on various issues facing the beleaguered judiciary.

During the second reading of the Judges' Remuneration (Amendment) Bill 2008, several parliamentarians demanded an explanation as to why the quantum of the ex-gratia payment to several former judges has been kept secret.

zaid ibrahim parliament pc 080508 01 "The judges involved did not want any publicity or discussion about this. They accepted the payment on grounds that the amount to be kept confidential and I must respect their decision,” Zaid said in his winding-up speech.

"What matters is that they accepted it. Do we not see that this is what they wanted? It is not about the amount but they want their privacy on this matter.”

He also denied that the payment was a bribe to "shut the judges’ mouths" and that the judges were instructed to keep quiet about the sum.

In April, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had announced at a Bar Council dinner that an ex-gratia payment would be made to acknowledge the"pain and loss" suffered by the suspended and sacked judges' in the 1988 judicial crisis.

judiciary forum lingam tape 171107 salleh abbas palace of justic The undisclosed sum has been paid to former Supreme Court judges Wan Suleiman Pawanteh, George Seah, Wan Hamzah Mohamed Salleh, Eusoffe Abdoolcadeer and Salleh Abas (left) . In some cases, family-members accepted the payment on their behalf.

Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas) was quick to ask if the sum was RM1-1.5 million as has been speculated by several parties.

Zaid denied this, but said the amount would be revealed eventually if the former judges agree to it. He confirmed that the payment came from the government.

Limited by powers

Several parliamentarians also asked whether any action will be taken against Sabah and Sarawak High Court judge Ian Chin.

ian chin ian hn chin judge Chin (left) made stunning allegations that he was threatened by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a number decisions in high-profile cases.

Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) called for Chin’s dismissal: "He is a person who is judicially immature. It is narrow-minded of him to put his thoughts in the proceeding notes of an election petition.

"The matter is now in the Chief Justice's hand as to whether he is willing to act against Chin. It would be better to fire Chin."

However, Zaid said any action taken against a judge is not within his power as he is part of the executive.

"This is separation of powers. The (chief justice) has the power to act and so do the police. It does not mean I don't care about this but I can only act within the powers bestowed upon me," he told the House.

high court mahkamah jalan duta The proposal for the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) was also hotly debated as several MPs took Zaid and the cabinet to task for not acting on this quickly enough.

The minister was seen taking deep breaths as parliamentarians kept interrupting him for an explanation.

"I am optimistic about this and I feel I can present the Bill on this commission to Parliament soon. I am sorry cannot do it now. I had raised it in cabinet but the government feels that several amendments were still necessary and we need more time to discuss it.”

lingam tape 160508 report The JAC was proposed in a report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the VK Lingam tape and is part of the judicial reforms promised by the government.

Zaid was also asked about the outcome of recommendations to charge six high-profile individuals.

"The matter is with the attorney-general. We will have to wait and see the outcome of their investigations," he replied.

The Bill was passed at 7.20pm.