Protecting judicial independence key to preventing another crisis, says senior judge

 

Lawyer A Srimurugan presenting his book to Justice Nallini Pathmanathan. They are flanked by law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi (left) and Girish Kamat from Thomson Reuters, the book publisher.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The independence of the judiciary must be protected and preserved at all costs if history is to be used as a yardstick, a senior Federal Court judge said.

Justice Nallini Pathmanathan said the climate of fear and lack of public trust in the judiciary have all largely dissipated in recent years, but this is not a time to be complacent.

“It is important that we collectively continue to affirm our unwavering commitment to judicial independence,” she said at the launch of a book, titled “The Federal Constitution: A Commentary (With Introduction to Judicial Review)”, written by lawyer A Srimurugan at a regional arbitration centre here today.

Nallini said the challenges of the past serve as a stark reminder that political interference must never take root again.

She said the judicial crisis of 1988, which has been described as “the eclipse of the Malaysian judiciary”, marked a devastating attack on judicial independence. The tension in the relationship between the executive and the judiciary culminated in the unprecedented removal of then Lord President Salleh Abbas and the suspension of five Supreme Court judges.

Nallini said a compliant judiciary, if allowed to take hold, would lead to a dangerous imbalance in the separation of powers, compromising the checks and balances essential for the country’s democracy.

“The effect of such a transformation would be felt most acutely by the people, who would find themselves unable to voice grievances in the face of unchecked governmental power,” she said.

For these reasons, she said, it is imperative that the independence of the judiciary remains at the forefront of the public’s concerns.

“It is the responsibility of every citizen to protect judicial independence, for only then can the judiciary continue to fulfill its sacred duty of upholding the trust of the people, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” she said.

Srimurugan said the elevation of several Court of Appeal judges to the Federal Court after the general election in 2018 changed the constitutional landscape in the country.

He said the appointment of Richard Malanjum as the ninth chief justice, followed by the elevation of current top judge Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, was a turning point, leading the judiciary into a “renaissance”.

The lawyer also noted that Tengku Maimun has the distinct honour of being in the minority in at least five judgments related to constitutional matters, a rare occurrence in the Commonwealth. - FMT