JUDGE’S LIFE IN DANGER AFTER SHOCK EXPOSE ON HIS COLLEAGUES: ‘NEVER BEFORE HAS A JUDGE BEEN BRAVE ENOUGH TO REVEAL THIS’ – LAWYER WANTS POLICE PROTECTION FOR JUSTICE HAMID

Lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla has tonight called on de facto Law Minister Liew Vui Kong to provide added protection to Court of Appeal judge, Hamid Sultan Abu Backer following his revelations in a tell-all affidavit.

Haniff who has been calling for an Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the judiciary and the Attorney General Chambers since August last year also reinvigorated his call to the government to immediately set up the RCI.

“First and foremost, the law minister should now provide extra security to Hamid as I, like others, fear for his safety following the revelation.

“Never before has a judge had been brave enough to come forward to reveal this and also reveal that the judiciary has been aiding private parties to defraud the government.

“These are all serious allegations which have to be looked into by the present government.

“However, the government has to provide extra security for Hamid to ensure his safety following the revelation. That is first and foremost,” he told Malaysiakini.

Haniff said he knew that Hamid, as a Court of Appeal judge, presently has a bodyguard but this would not be sufficient following the revelations made.

In the affidavit, among the matters revealed by Hamid was that the judiciary aided private entities through nominees of politicians to create contracts with the government, only to have the government break them so that the private parties can take the government to court and claim compensation.

Previously, during a law conference last year, Hamid had revealed that he was reprimanded by a senior judge for writing a dissenting judgment in the M Indira Gandhi case.

Haniff, who had represented Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for several cases in the past, urged the Pakatan Harapan government to start drafting the terms of reference for an RCI, and to extend it beyond the judiciary.

“When I called for an RCI last year, I called for one for the judiciary and the AG Chambers. Following Hamid’s revelation, this may as well be expanded to government departments and ministries,” he said.

The lawyer also confirmed that Hamid (photo below) was his source of his information when he revealed late last year, that a senior judge had ordered the Court of Appeal bench to upheld the conviction of the late lawyer Karpal Singh for sedition in 2016.

“I can confirm that Hamid met me as he stated in Para 99 of his affidavit regarding the Karpal case.

“I was informed by Hamid about this in the meeting held on Aug 20 between 9.30pm and 11pm,” he said, adding that subsequently he made a Facebook posting the next day.

Following the post, police reports were made leading to Haniff being questioned by the police.

“Even Chief Justice Richard Malanjum has written to me about the allegation made in the Karpal case,” he said, but added that he would only reveal everything if an RCI or a special task force is formed.

“Following the revelation made by Hamid, it is timely the government look into calling for an RCI,” he told Malaysiakini.

Prior to Hamid’s expose, in the early 1990s a former judge also revealed in a poison pen letter and pictures of the then Lord President Eusoffe Chin holidaying in New Zealand with his family as well as with lawyer VK Lingam.

That had been the subject of an RCI during Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s premiership with the videotape over judicial impropriety depicted Lingam talking to a senior judge.

MKINI