(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday) : DAP urges all organizations and ordinary Malaysians to join in and support the March For Justice organised by the Malaysian Bar Council from the Palace Of Justice in Putrajaya tomorrow at 11am to the Prime Minister’s Office to hand over a memorandum calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the judiciary. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz is insulting the intelligence of all Malaysians by comparing such this march as behaving like the opposition and questioned why they did not seek an appointment with the Prime Minister.

If tens of thousands of monks can march in a dictatorial regime like Myanmar, are lawyers and ordinary people who care about the independence of the judiciary to be prevented from exercising this fundamental right in Malaysia? Just like in Myanmar, the effort to reach out and persuade the government to observe basic human rights, comply with the rule of law and ensure justice for all has fallen on deaf ears.

How can marching be equated with the opposition when the ruling parties themselves have marched on a variety of issues? There is great urgency in taking immediate action or else the issue will fizzle out and be forgotten. That is why waiting for an appointment with the Prime Minister will take too long a time and fall into trap set by irresponsible parties who want to see the issue die a natural death and disappear.   

Whilst Nazri’s comments that the lawyers can march peacefully is welcomed, he is wrong to say that their stature will suffer by marching. Instead the stature of lawyers and all participants will only be enhanced that lawyers are not only obsessed with money but prepared to stand up for justice and judicial independence.

The remarks by Nazri that he issued a denial on behalf of the Chief Justice(CJ) that the CJ was not in the telephone conversation in the ‘Lingam tape’ revelations because “I am his minister”, has only further alarmed Malaysians. Instead of being a separate and independent entity from the executive branch of government as set out in the Federal Constitution, the judiciary is now controlled by the Executive.

The Federal Constitution clearly states that key judicial appointments are made by the Yang di Pertuan Agung after advice by the Prime Minister and consulting the Conference of Rulers, the Chief Justice and relevant Chief Judges. Clearly only the Rulers, the Prime Minister and principal judges are involved. The Lingam tapes have important and significant legal implications by negating this constitutional principles and scandalsing our judicial administration where a senior lawyer and not the Rulers of the Prime Minister allegedly fix up the appointment judges..

Nazri’s explanation that the CJ is not answerable to the press disregards the principle of public accountability. If so then why is CJ answerable to Ministers like Nazri when he has a higher standing, position and even protocol-wise. Only by answering to the press, can the public know whether he was involved in the infamous Lingam tapes and hence disqualified from continuing to hold such high public office.

Sadly the CJ has shown his contempt for public accountability by refusing to answer to the press with a “no comment” but diminishing his status and bringing his office to disrepute by answering to a Minister. The Malaysian Bar Council is correct in taking this action to condemn the interference in the judiciary until judicial appointments are tarnished by allegations of doing the bidding of vested interests rather than ensuring justice for all Malaysians.

If Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim does not want to prove his innocence and preserve his public credibility, the people have a right to participate in activities demanding that judges appointed are independent and not controlled by vested interests who are willing to sacrifice national interests and the rule of law.