20 months on, Suhakam reminds Putrajaya of mooted judicial misconduct RCI

Suhakam has renewed calls for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into allegations of judicial misconduct by Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer.

The Pakatan Harapan government had in June last year mooted the RCI in response to Hamid's allegation in an affidavit about purported judicial interference and conspiracy to defraud the government in commercial cases.

The Harapan government collapsed in late February. No date, no RCI has materialised.

Instead, Hamid Sultan (below) was last month slapped with a show-cause letter for, among others, the allegations he had raised in 2019.

"To date, there seem to be no further developments on either the establishment of the RCI or the investigation of the allegations made in the affidavit.

"In this regard, Suhakam hopes that the RCI will be established immediately without any further delay in order to restore the public's trust and confidence in the country's justice system and protect the independence of the judiciary," Suhakam said in a statement.

It stressed public trust and confidence are essential to the judiciary.

"The judiciary is a fundamental pillar of a democratic state, and its independence and integrity are critical to ensure the public's trust and confidence in fair and impartial justice for all in the country.

"The allegations made in the aforementioned affidavit, if proven to be true, are serious violations of human rights and liberties guaranteed in the Federal Constitution, in particular, equality before the law and equal protection of the law for all," it said.

Hamid Sultan is expected to retire next year. - Mkini