Malaysian PM announces measures on judicial reforms

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 Kyodo

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday announced major steps to repair the country's tainted judiciary, one of the reforms he has pledged to undertake after last month's election setbacks.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Bar Council, which was also attended by opposition party leaders, Abdullah said the government would establish a Judicial Appointments Commission ''to identify and recommend candidates for the judiciary to the prime minister.''

Currently judges are appointed by the king based on recommendations from the prime minister, who in turn only consults the chief judge.

Lawyers and rights groups, however, have long criticized the selection process as it is most often shrouded in secrecy and smacks of cronyism.

The issue turned scandalous after the appearance of a video shot in 2001 that showed V. K. Lingam, a well-connected lawyer, speaking on the phone to a former judge about how he could broker judges' appointments.

The royal commission of inquiry that was set up to investigate the video has yet to release its findings.

Abdullah noted that the video has sparked the need for a change in the process of appointing judges to make it ''more transparent and representative.''

He also announced a review of the judiciary's term of service and remuneration ''to ensure that the bench can attract and retain the very best of the nation's talent.''

He promised that ''other measures'' would be announced in due course to ''strengthen the capacity and credibility of the judiciary.''

''The level of trust and respect for the judiciary, we must all admit, is simply not as strong as it was before,'' Abdullah said. ''There are concerns which are less tangible but nonetheless prevalent such as perceived corruption and perceived decline in quality. The business community, in particular, has voiced concerns about the fairness and capacity of Malaysia's judiciary in settling disputes. This has directly affected perceptions of our country's economic competitiveness.''

In his speech, Abdullah also touched on the 1988 judicial saga where several judges including the country's top judge, Salleh Abas, were sacked after the judiciary came into conflict with then premier Mahathir Mohamad.

It happened after several court judgments went against the government.

The event marked what Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan described as a ''seismic shift'' that broke the ''equilibrium of power between the executive and the judiciary.''

Mahathir then had the Constitution amended to make the judiciary subordinate to the legislature, negating the doctrine of separation of power, and stripped the judiciary of its independence.

''For many the events of 1988 were an upheaval of the nation's judicial system. Rightly or wrongly, many disputed both the legality and morality of the related proceedings. For me, personally, I feel it was a time of crisis from which the nation never fully recovered,'' Abdullah said.

While he had earlier stated that the government would not apologize to the six ''outstanding'' judges involved for what happened, he offered Thursday to make ''goodwill ex gratia payments'' to them in recognition of their contributions.

Abdullah had pledged to reform the judiciary when he took office in 2003 but there appeared to be no political will and he also faced resistance from the old guard in the Cabinet. Last month's election results which saw the ruling National Front coalition lose its two-third majority in parliament and also five states has, however, changed everything.

Abdullah had admitted the election results were a signal from the voters that they were impatient with him to deliver his promises of reforms.

As a first step, he has appointed an outspoken, pro-reform lawyer, Zaid Ibrahim, as the de facto law minister.

In her speech, Ambiga credited Abdullah for ''loosening the tight grip on our fundamental freedoms, creating more democratic space and encouraging dialogue and difference of opinion.''

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