It's up to the Bar, says Anwar on judicial independence walk
PUTRAJAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has no issues with the Malaysian Bar's plan to hold a peaceful walk next Monday to call for a royal commission of inquiry into judicial appointments and alleged interference in the judiciary.
Anwar said it was the Bar's right to hold the gathering, but maintained that the attorney-general and Istana Negara had already touched on the issue.
'Let us follow the process and constitutional provisions that we have been practising all this while,' he told reporters after performing Friday prayers at Surau Ar-Rahim here.
Anwar again welcomed proposals to amend the constitutional provisions, but maintained that he has never interfered in the court's affairs as prime minister.
'As I have already said, for the past two-and-a-half years, I have never interfered with the court's decisions.'
Bar members will gather at the Palace of Justice on July 14 at 2pm to walk to the Prime Minister's Office and hand over a memorandum.
The Attorney-General's Chambers had rejected calls for an RCI and a parliamentary committee to investigate alleged irregularities in judicial appointments, saying the situation did not amount to a constitutional crisis.
Yesterday, Istana Negara warned against politicising the appointment of top judges, saying this process must be handled carefully, with integrity and in line with the Federal Constitution.
The palace said the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 only outlined the process of selecting candidates for judicial appointments, while the authority to advise the king was solely the prime minister's.
Separately, Anwar played down calls for Najib Razak to be allowed to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, after the attorney-general confirmed the existence of a royal addendum authorising it.
He said the matter was in court and all parties should allow the legal process to run its course.
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