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© The Star (Used by permission)
By Raphael Wong

PUTRAJAYA: Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim has lashed out at lawyers who accused the authorities of appointing judges who lacked integrity and honesty.

He said judges were appointed and promoted according to provisions laid down in the Federal Constitution.

“Don't say that they are dishonest. Don't say that they are without integrity. Give me proof and then we shall take action,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a judges conference being held here.

The conference is being attended by 83 judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Courts nationwide.

The Chief Justice added that the same procedure had been used to appoint previous Lord Presidents such as Tun Syed Sheikh Hassan Barakbah Al-Haj, Tun Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim and Sultan Azlan Shah.

“If they (the former Lord Presidents) can be people of integrity, why can't judges, who are appointed by the very same authority through the same procedure, have integrity too?” he asked.

Ahmad Fairuz said that since independence the judiciary has been consulting members of the Bar unofficially on the judges' conduct, and just because the Bar Council chairman had not been consulted it did not mean the legal fraternity was left in the dark.

“We have consulted senior members who come to court and who know more about court proceedings as opposed to a Bar Council official who does not come to court and never conducts any cases in court,” he said.

“What is important is the quality of the judges.

“At the time of selection, they can be very honest, they will be full of integrity but later on they can change. We are all human beings who have weaknesses.”

Ahmad Fairuz added that the three-day conference would help to uplift the judges' spirit and enable them to maintain their integrity and honesty .

In a report yesterday, Bar Council chairman Yeo Yang Poh, in welcoming the Chief Justice's move to incorporate magistrates and Sessions Court judges into the judiciary, added that to give it full effect and meaning, a judicial appointments commission should be set up to ensure the process of appointment was objective, transparent and accountable.

Ahmad Fairuz declined to comment on this matter.

On whether more members of the Bar would be appointed to the judiciary in future, Ahmad Fairuz said he had approached several members who had, in his view, honesty and integrity, but they were not interested.

“I guess the salaries and perks were not attractive. They will earn more, besides living a happier life, in the private sector,” he said, noting that in the previous appointment exercise a member of the Bar had been appointed.

When contacted about Ahmad Fairuz's comments, Yeo said the issue of having a judicial appointments commission was one of process.

“We should have the process in keeping with the times. Many other countries have moved on from the traditional methods to one of having a commission,” he said, adding that a commission would ensure appointments were “more transparent, more accountable and more objective.”

Related story:

CJ: Appointments, elevation of judges to stay

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