KUALA LUMPUR – A group of former Malaysian Bar presidents has urged Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun to speak out on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) finding that justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had breached the judicial code of ethics.
The 14 legal experts said Idrus’ silence on the matter is “profoundly disappointing” as the anti-graft body’s probe into Nazlan has led to “unacceptable intimidations against judges who are doing their duty to uphold the law without fear or favour”.
“He (Idrus) has not said anything on the conflict issues which have been conclusively decided by the Federal Court,” the group said in a statement.
“He has also failed to clear (Nazlan) of the scurrilous corruption allegations which even Datuk Seri Najib Razak has withdrawn.
“The attorney-general was himself a former Federal Court judge and must surely appreciate the devastating effects of his silence upon the judiciary and the sanctity of the justice administration,” they added.
Commenting on the letter from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said to Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah on MACC’s findings, the group expressed its incredulity at the interaction.
“It is unusual that a minister has seen fit to respond and provide information to a litigant in respect of MACC’s letter to the chief justice (Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat). This reeks of interference,” they claimed.
They also said MACC should itself be investigated after a letter from the commission to the chief justice was “leaked”, saying: “It is astounding that such a sensitive and confidential letter could have found its way into the public domain.”
“This raises serious questions on the confidentiality of MACC’s processes, which warrants an immediate investigation.”
The statement was signed by Tan Sri V.C. George, Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, Zainur Zakaria, Datuk Cyrus Das, Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Datuk Lim Chee Wee, Steven Thiru, Datuk George Varughese, Datuk Fareed Abdul Gafoor, Salim Bashir Bhaskaran, and A.G. Kalidas.
Yesterday, Azalina confirmed that on February 21, the anti-graft body had presented to Tengku Maimun its report concluding that Nazlan had breached the judicial ethics code during Najib’s SRC International trial.
She had subsequently defended her decision to answer Shafee’s letter as being in line with her previous answer on the matter in the Dewan Rakyat and her responsibility as an MP.
Constitutional lawyers have since opined that MACC should not supersede its authority by giving opinion on potential breaches of ethics by sitting judges, asserting that the matter should instead be referred to the Judges’ Ethics Committee.
Previously, The Vibes reported how MACC’s investigations into Nazlan had come under the spotlight after the Federal Court ruled that the commission had failed to adhere to certain protocols.
Nazlan presided over Najib’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 – sentencing him to 12 years’ jail and an RM210 million fine.
However, last April, MACC announced investigations into the judge after receiving a report about an unexplained sum of RM1 million in Nazlan’s bank account. – The Vibes, April 7, 2023
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