Yay…
Cutting off unseen hand
KUALA LUMPUR: Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim wants magistrates and Sessions Court judges to be absorbed into the judiciary, fearing that there would be interference by “unseen hands” if they remain as civil servants.
In explaining his proposal to separate the lower judiciary from the legal service department, he said: “If you really want the judiciary to be seen as independent, there must be separation. It is good for the country if the image of the judiciary is not only independent but seen to be.
“Democracy will not work well without independence,” Ahmad Fairuz said after a Hari
Raya lunch he hosted for court officers and staff at the High Court complex here yesterday.
As of last year, there were 82 Sessions Court judges and 127 magistrates in the country.
The top judge first announced this proposal in August at the start of a three-day conference of judges in Putrajaya.
In an immediate response to the announcement then, Bar Council chairman Yeo Yang Poh welcomed the Chief Justice’s move, saying that to give it full effect and meaning, a judicial appointments commission should be set up to ensure the process of appointment was objective, transparent and accountable.
Ahmad Fairuz yesterday cited an example where a junior magistrate might feel intimidated when the prosecution in a case was conducted by a more senior deputy public prosecutor.
“What would the impression of the public be? Especially when you know that one day the magistrate will be transferred to be under the DPP?
“These officers are government servants now. If they become part of the judiciary, they would enjoy the same independence and immunity as superior court judges,” he said.
He said that judicial officers as civil servants were subjected to transfers.
“Unseen hands can be there because they are government servants. If they become members of the judiciary, the only way to remove them is through a tribunal.
“It is very transparent and I do not think there can be interference by unseen hands,” he said.
Ahmad Fairuz said that the plan included absorbing officers as magistrates only when they have at least 10 years’ experience while Sessions Court judges must have a minimum of 15 years.
“People who come to court then would have confidence in the lower judiciary. That is the meaning of the separation – cut off control of legal officers on junior judicial officers. There may have been such instances. The bottom line is, we do not want the public to get this kind of impression,” he said.
The Chief Justice said the proposal would be submitted to the Government through the Prime Minister’s Department.
An excellent proposal by the CJ. Hopefully more can be done also to improve the judicial services and restore confidence in Malaysia’s courts.
