Politicians The Biggest Threat To Constitution Says Ex Cj

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Former chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has opined that politicians pose the greatest threat to the Federal Constitution, reaffirming her stance that the prime minister should stay out of judicial appointments.
Addressing a query from an audience member at an Allianz Centre for Governance (ACG) event in Kuala Lumpur today, Tengku Maimun briefly remarked that it is politicians themselves who endanger the sanctity and supremacy of the Constitution.
“The biggest threat would be the politicians. I’m so sorry, I think it would be best for me not to elaborate (on the claim),” Tengku Maimun said with a nervous laugh, to a round of light chuckles from the crowd.
Although she brushed off her comment with a wry smile, Tengku Maimun revealed that while she had never experienced “interference” from other quarters during her tenure as a High Court and appellate court judge, her time as chief justice was not as tranquil.
ADS“Towards the end of my tenure as chief justice, there was a semblance of attempted interference,” she said without divulging details.
Tengku Maimun was speaking at ACG’s forum titled “The Sanctity of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution: Threats, Solutions, and Impact on National Governance”.
PM’s role in judicial appointments ‘problematic’
The former chief justice reiterated her stance that the prime minister should not be involved in the appointment of judicial commissioners.
She stressed that current laws, which allow the prime minister to appoint five members to the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), should be amended to avoid tainting the public’s perception of the judiciary.
Among the five appointments made by the prime minister to the JAC, one is a Federal Court judge, while the remaining are eminent persons not part of the executive or public service. 
Tengku Maimun hinted that if the prime minister continues to have a say in the selection of such eminent persons, there could be “a bit of a problem”.
“... the perception would then be that whatever wishes the prime minister has, these eminent persons would be perhaps bound, or feel obliged to act on the request of the prime minister. 
“Although this is only a perception (issue), I think in the judiciary, perception matters,” Tengku Maimun said.
‘Big hoohaa over nothing’
She highlighted that her earlier calls for the removal of the prime minister’s role in judicial appointments were made after Negeri Sembilan Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir issued a similar statement in 2022.
Despite the apparent royal backing of her recommendation on judicial independence, Tengku Maimun lamented that her speech in Malta on the matter earlier this year had become “a big hooha for no reason”.
Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat speaking during the Malta law conferenceADSFormer law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz had previously claimed that Tengku Maimun’s Malta speech, in which she remarked that removing the prime minister’s involvement in judicial appointments could help dispel perceptions of political interference in the judiciary, had cost her a tenure extension.
Nazri reportedly said Tengku Maimun should have voiced her concerns privately, triggering Lawyers for Liberty co-founder Latheefa Koya to demand an explanation from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan had also chastised Nazri’s assertion that Tengku Maimun’s call had undermined the executive.
Ambiga rebuked the notion that a chief justice’s future should hinge on whether the prime minister takes offence to their remarks, warning that such thinking poses a dangerous affront to judicial independence.
‘Delay was nobody’s fault’
Meanwhile, when asked for comments on the supposed “delay” in between her stepping down and the appointment of her successor, Tengku Maimun dismissed the matter as a non-issue. 
“I don’t think that delay is anybody’s fault - the process is as such that (the appointments) have to go to the Conference of Rulers, which only meets on scheduled dates,” she said. 
She expressed concern, however, over “some delays” on appointments to the JAC - a process which does not require consultation with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. 
“For some of the names appointed recently, their names were sent in for consideration almost a year ago… I don’t really know why there’s a delay, in that sense,” she remarked.
Tengku Maimun, the nation’s first female chief justice, began her tenure in May 2019 and retired on July 1. She is succeeded by Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who was sworn in on July 28.
- Mkini

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