JOHOR BARU – Investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali failed to adhere to protocols, the Federal Court said today.
Delivering a ruling on a suit brought by three lawyers – Haris Ibrahim, Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai – to challenge MACC’s probe, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat pointed out that enforcement authorities are required to consult the chief justice before initiating any probe.
“Their failure to inform shows that there was a lack of bona fide on their part.
“The announcement (made by MACC through the media) is enough to damage judicial independence,” Tengku Maimun was quoted as saying in the judgment document sighted by The Vibes today.
The three lawyers who initiated the suit argued that the investigation violated the independence of the judiciary and the doctrine of separation of powers.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Zabidin Diah, as well as justices Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Vernon Ong, Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang also heard the suit.
Only yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said told the Dewan Rakyat that the MACC’s report over their probe against Nazlan has already been submitted to Tengku Maimun on February 21.
Azalina explained that she was informed of this by MACC in a letter that contained no additional information.
Nazlan presided over former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC International trial at the high court, and found the former Pekan MP guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, and sentenced him to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine.
However, last April, MACC announced investigations against the judge after receiving a report about an unexplained sum of RM1 million in Nazlan’s bank account. – The Vibes, February 24, 2023
