PKR man slams Latheefa over judicial appointment remarks
PETALING JAYA : A PKR division chief has slammed Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) adviser Latheefa Koya over her call for the government to urgently table a constitutional amendment bill to strip the prime minister and the executive of all influence in the appointment of judges.
Batu PKR chief Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi said it was ironic that the proposal came from someone who was 'abruptly' appointed as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's second term as prime minister.
'Perhaps she has forgotten that the power and prerogative of a prime minister, which she is now urging to be removed, was the very same power used to appoint her as MACC chief commissioner.
'When she was appointed as MACC chief, why did she not call for Mahathir to remove his powers and/or influence over judicial or even MACC appointments? Was it because that power benefited certain parties at the time?' Asheeq said in a statement.
Malaysiakini yesterday reported Latheefa as saying that the proposed constitutional amendment bill could be brought and passed in the Parliament session commencing in a few weeks' time.
She also described the alleged leak of minutes from a recent Judicial Appointments Commission meeting as 'the greatest judicial scandal in history'.
Asheeq however said that the documents had yet to be authenticated, let alone the allegations within them. 'Nevertheless, Latheefa was quick to describe it as the greatest scandal in history.'
He added that the judiciary had faced 'real serious crises in the past', citing the 1988 crisis which saw the dismissal of then-lord president Salleh Abbas by the Mahathir-led administration.
Asheeq also cited the 2007 judicial crisis, where a secretly recorded video was released showing lawyer VK Lingam allegedly brokering the appointment and promotion of judges in a phone conversation with a senior judge.
A royal commission of inquiry had recommended action against certain individuals, including Mahathir.
'These scandals were the real judicial scandals that shook public trust and institutional integrity. Yet, Latheefa appears to have forgotten them, possibly because they implicate Mahathir.
'Latheefa should refrain from issuing populist statements, especially when she herself previously benefited from the very system of power that she now criticises,' Asheeq said.
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