Appoint top judges from within Judiciary, Putrajaya told

PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government must nominate candidates for the four top judges’ positions from within the Judiciary and not from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (ProjekSAMA) said.

ProjekSAMA said it was concerned with the speculation over Attorney General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh being appointed as a Federal Court judge to subsequently assume the office of the Chief Justice of Malaya.

“This move may deliver the third most serious blow to public trust and credibility of the Judiciary after the 1988 Constitutional Crisis and the 2002 Lingam "correct! correct! correct!" Video Clip (exposed in 2007).

“The government must learn from history and avoid repeating it,” the group said.

The top four positions are the Chief Justice of Malaysia, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of Malaya and the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak.

While Article 123 of the Federal Constitution allows any citizen who has been practising law for 10 years either as a lawyer or a member of the judicial or legal services to be appointed as a judge of any level, Projek SAMA believes the appointment to the upper echelons of the Judiciary from the AGC should be avoided, especially before the separation of the AGC and Public Prosecution. 

It was recently reported that Terrirudin was expected to be appointed as a Federal Court judge, with the possibility of later assuming the role of Chief Judge of Malaya. 

The report said that Terrirudin’s nomination has been submitted by the Prime Minister’s Office for approval by the Conference of Rulers.

Set up in 2009 after the Lingam scandal, the Judicial Appointment Commission (Jac) is tasked to select candidates for judge appointment before their recommendation by the prime minister for the appointment by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

However, there are still concerns, among others, over the prime minister’s power to ignore or reject the candidates shortlisted by Jac.

ProjekSAMA urges Anwar to both respect the recommendations made by the Jac and commit to promoting senior judges from within the Judiciary where talents are aplenty, and to commence a review of the Judicial Appointments Act 2009 to ensure the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of the government, in particular where judge appointment at all levels is concerned. – July 15, 2024.