The lukewarm response to former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s online petition to safeguard the judiciary’s integrity is a telling indicator of the rakyat’s sentiments, according to former law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz.
“This means the public supports Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and the so-called issue is not important.
“I think that’s a fair conclusion,” Nazri told Malaysiakini today.
The petition, which Rafizi launched via his social media platforms on Friday, is aimed at demonstrating the public’s support for an independent judiciary with integrity while rallying public pressure to protect the separation of powers and the rule of law
As of press time, the petition has drawn a modest response, with 1,935 verified signatures on the English version and 5,393 on the Bahasa Malaysia copy.
Rafizi and eight other PKR MPs had urged for the formation of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) and for the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on institutional reforms to investigate alleged judicial interference.
They called for the RCI to probe claims that the government ignored Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) recommendations before Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s retirement as chief justice, including nominations for chief justice and Court of Appeal president.
‘I have more experience…’
Nazri also hit back at former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan’s remarks chastising his assertion that Tengku Maimun’s previous call for the removal of the prime minister’s role in judicial appointments had undermined the executive.
Claiming that Ambiga had erred in attempting to “school” him on the matter, Nazri said he was merely attempting to highlight that the judiciary and the executive should not be at each other’s throats.
“I have more experience than Ambiga. I’ve worked with seven former chief justices (during his time in office), and we never had any problems because we stood by each other (as) we knew it was important for the executive to not attack the judiciary and vice versa.
“Ambiga is nobody. I’ve got 14 years of experience… I know how to run together with the judiciary,” he added.
Earlier, Ambiga rebuked the notion that a chief justice’s future should hinge on whether the prime minister takes offence to their remarks, warning that such thinking poses a dangerous affront to judicial independence.
She said this in response to Nazri, who reportedly attributed the non-extension of Tengku Maimun’s tenure to her speech in Malta in April, where she remarked that removing the prime minister’s involvement in judicial appointments could help dispel perceptions of political interference in the judiciary.
Tengku Maimun disclosed then that there were proposals to amend both the JAC Act 2009 and the Federal Constitution to eliminate the prime minister’s role in the process.
Malaysiakini also reported Lawyers for Liberty co-founder Latheefa Koya urging Anwar to respond to Nazri’s claim. - Mkini
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