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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 17, 2008) : Members from both sides of the Dewan Rakyat today questioned the proposed selection of the four eminent persons, who are not members of the executive or other public services, to sit in the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).

They wanted a clearer definition of the persons -- to be appointed by the prime minister after consulting the Bar Council, attorney-general and other relevant bodies -- and asked how impartial they would be.

"It is vital to check the background of the four eminent persons. What are the criteria? They should be defined clearly. The government must be careful in this because they would be responsible later to appoint the chief judges for the high courts and court of appeal," Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) said when debating the JAC bill.

"We must make sure they are truly responsible persons. Not only that, we must also ensure they do not have any relations, for example, with any (members of the) board of directors."

Under the provisions of the act, the commission members will comprise the chief justice of the Federal Court as the chairman, president of the Court of Appeal, chief judge of the High Court in Malaya, chief judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, a Federal Court judge to be appointed by the prime minister, and the four eminent persons.

Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) suggested that the eminent persons should be chosen, for example, from among retired distinguished lawyers but with certain conditions.

"Hopefully, there is a guarantee that they are truly free from pressure and lobbying and not only (from) personal relations with judiciary members but also corporate figures who may be involved in court cases later," he said.

"And also, maybe, they don’t go out holidaying with the lawyers. In addition, if there is certain conflict of interest involved, I suggest the person should recluse himself from the discussions."

Both Khairy and Mohd Puad also questioned the definition of "consultation" to be conducted between the prime minister and the relevant bodies.

Khairy asked the kind of report to be submitted to the Parliament by the JAC.

"In what form would the report be? Is it only superficial like on the amount of expenses, numbers of meetings? Or would it be substantive and comprehensive such as to include the decisions made and the names of judges recommended and rejected?" he said.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) expressed concern over the power of the prime minister to remove the eminent persons at any time without giving any reasons.

"This virtually gives legal legitimacy for executive dominance over the judicial arm of the government," he said.

Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) asked the meaning of "eminent persons" which, he said, is stipulated in a "very general way" in the act.

"It is very, very general. Who are these people? Are we prepared now to put this heavy responsibility on all the nine commissioners? What will happen if the four were found to be unsuitable?" he said.

Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju) also voiced his dissatisfaction over the lack of criteria regarding the appointments of the four persons.

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