Judges told to fly economy class to their meeting

If you happen to spot a familiar face taking a local economy class flight to Kota Bharu on Malaysia Airlines, chances are he or she is a judge.

This follows a directive from either the CJ or the Federal Court registrar which is which is organising the event that the judges  and their spouses to take the option.

The five-day Judges Conference is to kick off tomorrow in Kota Bharu, Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria's home state.

It is held bi-annually to keep the bench up to date on current law and practices.

Malaysiakinispotted an official letter dated June 4 containing the directive.

It is learnt some members of the bench are questioning the directive, seeing it as violating the official provisions and benefits accorded them.

According to their entitlements, the judges can travel business class. 

Judges are supposed to be far from the public eye and scrutiny in performing duty of dispensing justice.

Official cars not allowed too

And judges desirous of a casual scenic drive in their official cars rather than flying to their destination, are prohibited from doing so.

However, the exceptions are High Court judges from Pahang and Terengganu, who are allowed the use of their official cars.

The judges, according to the letter, are required to ride economy class in MAS, or worse still take budget airlines AirAsia or Firefly to their destination, said the circular.

However, flight bookings can be made by their respective secretaries.

There are nine Federal Court judges besides Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum, President Court of Appeal Md Raus Sharif and Arifin himself among the senior judges attending the conference.

Besides this there are 21 Court of Appeal judges, 65 High Court judges and 24 judicial commissioners expected at the conference.