PUTRAJAYA, Jan 9 — Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat today called out dissenters who criticise certain judgments simply because they disagree with it, describing it as a “mischievous” act and one aimed to intimidate judges.
She said constructive criticism is always welcomed, but not attempts to undermine the judiciary’s independence.
“Last year, attempts to intimidate or otherwise exert improper pressure on judges presiding over public interest cases are becoming more obvious. These attempts are a direct affront to the Rule of Law and judicial independence. They certainly deserve condemnation and indeed many have spoken out against them in strong terms.
“It is very mischievous for anyone to try to tarnish the image of the Courts and bring it into disrepute through unfair, biased and often times unenlightened criticism simply because they happen to not like particular decisions,” she said in her speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2023 here.
Commenting on the criminal justice system as an example, Malaysia’s top judge noted that the courts will continue to decide on criminal liability according to the applicable law and the strength of the evidence presented in court.
“Those who are proven guilty will be convicted and those not so proven will be acquitted. Convicted accused persons will be meted with punishments that their crimes deserve, no more and no less.
“This is our job as judges, and we are determined to discharge our duty without regard to any threats that are made to deter us from it,” she said.
She expressed confidence that judicial independence will be upheld and will not be compromised, as long as all judges remain committed to the principles of deciding cases "without fear or favour, without ill-will or motive, without any external or internal pressure and without regard to personalities".
Since last year, Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali — the trial judge who had heard and convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the case of the misappropriation of RM42 million of government-owned SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds — had came under attack from various quarters, including by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and by politicians.
In the same speech, Tengku Maimun noted that judges who hear court cases with overtly political overtones frequently face a great deal of intense scrutiny in the media — especially on social media, and said such court decisions are "almost always criticised" by political parties members and by the public.
While recognising that every citizen has the constitutional right to criticise the judiciary and test the correctness of its court judgments through due process, she said judges should be aware of public opinion but are not bound by it.
"Healthy attention and constructive comments towards the judiciary and its work are always to be welcomed as they help us to reflect on our work, improve to the best of our abilities and competence, and also remind us of the utmost importance of upholding judicial independence to maintain the Rule of Law." she said, adding that such criticisms should not result in "disharmony" between the judiciary and lawyers, any political alliance or the public but should instead strengthen the determination to uphold judicial independence and rule of law.
The chief justice said comments that are not based on objective facts, rational arguments and based on legal reasoning, but are based on political stances or improper considerations would not be of any value to upholding judicial independence and the rule of law.
She urged judges to write judgments that are clear, concise and easily understood by the public as these judgments would have long-lasting impact in shaping Malaysia's law.
She said judges should make decisions based on the law and not with the intention of seeking popularity.
With court judgments accessible online by the public, she urged the public to read these judgments in their entirety or in full before they form an opinion and vilify the judiciary.
Later at a press conference when asked about criticisms such as by political parties against the judiciary, Tengku Maimun noted that there would be heightened public attention given to court cases involving certain personalities.
"In this situation, what I observed is that when involving certain personalities, comments that are given about the judiciary are quite excessive and biased, comments are not objective and political in nature; not comments which are constructive, which can be said to be an intellectual discourse to discuss the legal issues — no, it is more to political sentiments," she said.
At the same time, the chief justice expressed appreciation to those who had given their support amid the extraordinary levels of criticism of the judiciary over court rulings.
"It's true in each court decision, there will be those who are satisfied and those who are not satisfied. That is normal. What is extraordinary in cases involving certain personalities is that the support or criticism is quite extraordinary, because as it is known, I myself have also received death threats — serious or not is another question," she said.
"But at the same time, we see such extraordinary support towards the judiciary and here I take the opportunity to express appreciation for the support by society as a whole which understands actually in each decision that we make, we don't have any particular agenda, our agenda is only the law. If we find this law requires such a decision in line with existing provisions of the law, then that is how our decision is," she said, urging the public to make efforts to understand the legal process in the country first before making comments.
Earlier during her speech, she had also thanked the Malaysian Bar: "It is common knowledge that last year, the Judiciary was the target of scurrilous attacks during the hearing of certain high-profile cases. We remain grateful to the Bar in particular for issuing reasoned statements in support of the Judiciary. We look forward to your continued support and cooperation."
