Ramasamy backs calls for RCI on judicial appointments
PETALING JAYA : Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has backed calls for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to examine delays in judicial appointments.
On Monday, Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli and several other PKR MPs proposed an RCI and a parliamentary select committee hearing following delays in the appointment of top judicial positions, including the chief justice.
In a statement today, Ramasamy claimed that the decision not to extend the contract of top judges had been widely perceived as a deliberate move to weaken an otherwise vibrant judiciary.
He said the decision, along with recent appointments to the Federal Court and the 'opaque' decision-making process of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) regarding the extension of terms for retiring judges, raised questions about transparency and the influence of the executive in judicial matters.
'This sustained interference by the executive portends a constitutional crisis of unprecedented scale,' he claimed.
'The judiciary – the final bulwark for the rights of Malaysian citizens – is being battered by unchecked executive power.
'There must be an RCI to investigate these serious allegations.'
Claims of a constitutional crisis surfaced ahead of the mandatory retirement of chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim last week.
Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim is currently serving as acting chief justice while Federal Court judge Zabariah Yusof has been made acting Court of Appeal president.
In a statement yesterday, the Attorney-General's Chambers said any suggestion of a constitutional crisis was unfounded as the appointments were proceeding in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
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