JULY 14 — The recent rumours of attorney general (AG) Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh being tipped for appointment as a Federal Court judge and the possibility of him being later appointed Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM), the third highest post in the judicial hierarchy, is a cause for concern and ought to be addressed by the government.
I note that the matter was reported twice by Free Malaysia Today on June 6, 2024 and July 9, 2024 and the lack of a response to the said articles has fuelled speculation that Terrirudin is indeed being considered for the post.
The issue here has nothing to do with Terrirudin’s performance or competence as AG but has everything to do with why there is a need to depart from the practice of appointing a serving Federal Court judge as CJM, particularly when there are candidates who certainly qualify for the post.
No doubt, there have been precedents from the times of previous governments of a former AG being appointed as a Federal Court Judge and a practicing lawyer being appointed as a Court of Appeal judge who was eventually appointed Chief Justice (CJ) but the question arises as to whether these are precedents this government should be following having regard to its commitment to reforms, particularly Judicial reforms.
With respect, such precedents ought to be abandoned as they give rise to the perception of government interference in the appointment of senior judges since such appointments are ultimately made on the advice of the prime minister under Article 122B of the Federal Constitution.
It cannot be over emphasised that there are qualified candidates from the line up of current serving Federal Court judges to fill the post of CJM and it is understood that recommendations have been made by the Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC), which is chaired by the CJ, from that line up.
Public confidence in the Judiciary has been considerably restored of late with many judgements of the Federal Court being praised as reflecting the independence of the Judiciary.
The Madani government should refrain from departing from the practice of appointing a serving Federal Court judge as CJM as there is no reason, in the circumstances, to recruit someone who has not served on the bench for the role.
Appointing an outsider to one of the country’s most senior judicial post would certainly be a step backward and would reflect poorly on the government’s commitment to judicial reforms. It also comes across as unappreciative of the work the current members the Judiciary have been doing to restore public and international confidence in the judicial arm of Malaysia.
*Ramkarpal Singh is the Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor.
**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
