MACC’s powers pertain to corruption, not judicial ethics: M’sian Bar president

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JOHOR BARU – Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah found it strange that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) report to Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat on its investigations into a former high court judge concerned breaches of judicial ethics, which are outside the enforcement authority’s purview.

Speaking to The Vibes, Cheah referred to news reports stating that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said received a letter from the MACC which said that authorities had forwarded investigation details involving Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali to the chief justice.

“It has been reported that the report forwarded to the chief justice is in respect to their probe over breaches of the Judicial Code of Ethics (JECA).

“Firstly, why is the report from the MACC to the chief justice regarding JECA? The powers of the MACC pertain to corruption.

“The code of ethics is within the purview of the Judicial Ethics Committee,” Cheah told The Vibes when contacted on the matter.

Such a move, she explained, could result in the anti-corruption agency exceeding its statutory powers.

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Independence of judiciary is sacrosanct – Hafiz Hassan

NOT too long ago, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat reminded the public, especially politicians, to read and understand the courts’ grounds of judgement instead of drawing their own conclusions on judges’ decisions.

The chief justice alluded to comments that were made of pure sentiment, which showed that those making the comments did not read the courts’ judgments nor did they take the trouble to understand the law.

It is now an apt reminder, following the Federal Court’s decision on Friday that unanimously ruled that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation against justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali did not follow proper protocol.

If one were to read the judgement, one would have no difficulty to agree with Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah that “the ruling should not be mistaken to be from the Chief Justice only, but also from six other judges of the Federal Court – namely, Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Hashim, Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Diah, Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Vernon Ong, Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.”

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MACC probe into Nazlan meddles with judiciary: lawyers’ group

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) decision to initiate investigations against Justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is tantamount to executive interference in the judiciary, said the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA).

In an open letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, CLA said the allegations of Nazlan violating the judicial code of ethics are not under MACC’s jurisdiction.

It added that the recent decision from the Federal Court appeal brought by three lawyers – Haris Fathillah Mohamed Ibrahim, Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai – went to show that the allegations against Nazlan were without merit.

“The issue is now res judicata,” according to the open letter.

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