KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Fourteen former Malaysian Bar presidents today called on “irresponsible actors” to stop criticising a Court of Appeal judge who had presided over the SRC International Sdn Bhd case that ended with the conviction and jailing of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The senior lawyers said the continued criticisms amounted to an attack against the judiciary, and asked the detractors if they would have persisted if the high-profile case did not involve an influential politician like Najib.
“The continuing intimidation of the judiciary by irresponsible actors in connection with the SRC case is a danger to the rule of law in our country particularly where 14 judges have considered the SRC case, and 13 of them have handed down reasoned judgments upholding the convictions,” they said in a statement.
The 14 former Malaysian Bar presidents named are: Tan Sri VC George, Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, Zainur Zakaria, Datuk Cyrus Das, Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Datuk Lim Chee Wee, Steven Thiru, Datuk George Varughese, Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, Salim Bashir Bhaskaran, and AG Kalidas.
In their statement, the 14 lawyers observed a prolonged criticism against Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali who had been the SRC trial judge when the case was at the High Court.
The lawyers said the Federal Court had conclusively decided that Justice Mohd Nazlan did not have any conflict of interest when he found Najib guilty in the SRC case, but diatribes continued to be made after a document leak, purportedly from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The leaked document purported that the MACC had found the judge to have breached a set of code of ethics for judges.
The lawyers said the legal principle of every person being equal before the law means that no one should try to tear down the judiciary.
“This case has given rise to an unacceptable level of intimidation against Judges who are doing their duty to uphold the law without fear or favour. They are facing constant harassment, and are subject to machinations and schemes by some with vested interests.
“All of this must stop as it does not serve the rule of law or the country. Those who have been found to have committed offences must pay for it. That is the Malaysian criminal justice system. There should be no preferred class of people in this country who are permitted to tear down an institution to escape the law.
“Everyone is said to be equal before the law. Does anybody believe that, if it is not a powerful political figure who is involved in the SRC case, the current attacks on the judiciary will occur?
“Do Malaysians want to see, again, our justice system compromised by powerful politicians?” they asked.
They also said that court judgments can be criticised, but should be done in a calm and controlled manner for a proper purpose.
They said that any criticism of court judgments which involves accusing a judge of improper motive would amount to contempt of court and can be liable to legal action.
Ever since Mohd Nazlan convicted Najib over the misappropriation of RM42 million of government-owned firm SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds, the judge has been made the target of attacks — especially online attacks — which have been aiming to sling mud and cast doubt on his decision to convict Najib.
Najib’s conviction has however been upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, and the former prime minister last Friday lost his latest bid to challenge his conviction when the Federal Court in a 4-1 decision rejected his review bid.
Among other things, the former Malaysian Bar presidents today also said the MACC does not have the powers to investigate or make findings on alleged conflict of interest in a court matter or breaches of judicial ethics, as the MACC's powers under the law is limited to only investigating alleged corruption.
They also said there should be an immediate investigation following the purported leak of the MACC document, as it was "astounding that such a sensitive and confidential letter could have found its way into the public domain and raises serious questions about the confidentiality of MACC processes".
As the Federal Court had conclusively decided with finality that there is no merit in the allegation of conflict of interest against the SRC trial judge, the matter cannot be reopened through collateral attacks via the media as it would be a "serious undermining of the administration of justice", the former Malaysian Bar presidents said.
They also referred to the similar "leak" to the media, of a letter from Minister of Law and Institutional Reform Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said to Najib's lawyers, where she repeated MACC's "questionable 'finding' or 'view'" regarding the SRC trial judge.
"It is unusual that a minister has seen fit to respond and provide information to a litigant in respect of MACC’s letter to the Chief Justice. This reeks of interference," the former Malaysian Bar presidents said.
Last night, Azalina responded to news reports of her letter to Najib's lawyers regarding the MACC's letter to the chief justice, saying that her letter's contents were similar to her previous parliamentary reply.
Azalina said it is the judiciary that has the powers over any alleged breaches of ethics by the SRC trial judge, and that the government always respects the doctrine of separation of powers. Under the doctrine, the three branches of government — the executive (which includes the MACC), the legislature, and the judiciary — each exercise their powers independently.
The former Malaysian Bar presidents expressed their disappointment that Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun has been silent on the trial judge’s alleged conflict of interest (which the Federal Court has already conclusively decided to be baseless).
They were also disappointed in the attorney-general's silence "in failing to publicly clear" the SRC trial judge of the “scurrilous allegations of corruption” that even Najib had withdrawn.
The full statement of the former Malaysian Bar presidents can be found here.
