|
 New Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR, Fri - Critics of the Bar Council's proposal for an independent Judicial Commission have not appreciated the true nature of the proposal, Bar Council chairman Khutubul Zaman Bukhari said today. He said the concern that judges would become "afraid" of or indebted to lawyers if appointments and promotions were to be decided by a Judicial Commission was unfounded. He was asked to comment on Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Rais Yatim's statement today that criticism of the appointment of judges was tantamount to insulting the King and purely political in nature. Khutubul said in the structure proposed by the Bar Council, only two out of eight members of the Commission would be from the Bar, clearly constituting a minority. So, by the same token, he said judges would be "afraid" or indebted to other members of the Commission such as the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General and senior judges. He said the composition proposed by the Bar Council had precisely provided for a balanced form of representation so that no single sector would dominate the process. The proposal was made by the Bar Council in the belief that it could enhance the independence of the judiciary in the interest of the nation. "This call is in tandem with the international trend to establish similar Commissions," he added. Rais' concern, he said, could not be right as "if it is right, then no legislation may be openly discussed because statutes are enacted with royal consent, which is no less an act of, or a decision by, His Majesty". On Rais' contention that judicial appointments and promotions were "a purely internal and judicial matter", Khutubul said: "It is a most puzzling observation which ignores the role of judiciary in a growing democracy such as Malaysia and is a gross underestimation of the Malaysian public's concern and awareness of matters of public interest."
 |
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Direct Access Mastercard Exclusive Rebates
