Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has criticised the MACC for initiating an investigation against Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali which he described as going against the principles of separation of powers.
"I take note of the issue involving Nazlan and the claim that there is an unexplained RM1 million in his account.
“However, I would like to stress that the institution of the judiciary has its own body that governs and controls the integrity of judges.
"This is done to ensure that there would be a clear separation of powers in the existing system. Therefore, the MACC's interference violates this principle," Anwar said in a statement.
Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed that an investigation has been initiated against Nazlan.
This was after Malaysia Today run by political blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin accused Nazlan of having unexplained wealth. Nazlan has lodged a police report over the allegation.
Convicted Najib
Nazlan is the judge who convicted former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak of money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust.
Azam said the MACC was investigating because someone had lodged an official report.
Anwar expressed concern about possible attempts to interfere in the judiciary.
"The integrity and independence of the judiciary are gradually recovering after decades of mismanagement without any serious attempts by the government to rectify it.
"There is the worry that such news (about Nazlan) could be seen as an attempt to exert pressure and political interference," he said.
Previously, an allegation was circulated claiming that Nazlan was a relative of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir's daughter Marina denied her family are related to Nazlan.
Najib's legal team has also tried to discredit Nazlan by claiming that he had a conflict of interest in the 1MDB case.
When Nazlan was a High Court judge in 2020, he sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and RM210 million for corruption, abuse of power and money laundering.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision last year. Najib is appealing the case in Federal Court. - Mkini
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