Would Removing Implicated Judge Solve Judicial Crisis Zaid Asks

---

 


Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has challenged Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar to answer whether removing a senior judge allegedly implicated in an appointments scandal would solve broader issues within the judicial system.
Zaid said that since the two leaders had drawn comparisons with the VK Lingam scandal, Rafizi and the eight PKR MPs’ proposed royal commission of inquiry (RCI) should examine whether the judge in question was part of a broader conspiracy or merely acting on instructions from his superiors.
“Or are you content to declare the matter settled just because his name was not submitted this time?
“The public deserves more than convenient half-closures. Either we want truth and accountability, or we continue the culture of selective amnesia,” Zaid said on X today.
PKR leaders Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah AnwarRafizi, who is Pandan MP, had expressed fear that the same “ultra-rich elites” who were behind the Lingam scandal may be involved in the crisis plaguing the judiciary.
On July 14, Nurul Izzah said that the most crucial point for an independent judicial system is the lack of interference from internal or external forces.
The former MP also said that those appointed to top judicial posts must not only be capable but also have the highest moral integrity to carry out the job.
Rafizi had previously warned that the senior judge accused of judicial interference could rise in the ranks and eventually become the chief justice soon.
Harapan MPs meet Anwar to object
Several Pakatan Harapan MPs told Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during their meeting two days ago not to nominate the senior judge for top judicial positions.
This was according to highly placed sources in the coalition, who were present at the so-called no-holds-barred meeting at the prime minister’s official residence in Putrajaya.
However, according to the MPs who spoke to Malaysiakini, Anwar did not reveal whether the senior judge implicated in an alleged judicial interference scandal was part of the list he had submitted to the Conference of Rulers.
ADSThis claim was corroborated by the account of another elected representative from a different component party.
The meeting on the judicial scandal between Anwar and Harapan MPs lasted nearly two hours.
On June 12, the senior judge had ordered his aide to lodge a police report after Malaysiakini contacted the judge seeking comment on allegations that the judge was accused of judicial interference during a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) meeting in May.
The report was leaked two weeks later.
Last Saturday, purported JAC meeting minutes from May were also leaked on social media and appeared to corroborate the allegations against the judge, as well as concerns of broader judicial interference.
Rafizi vs Nurul Izzah
On July 14, Nurul Izzah, the PKR deputy president, turned up unannounced at the Malaysian Bar’s “Walk to Safeguard Judicial Independence”.
Nurul Izzah at the Malaysian Bar march on July 14This came amid calls from several PKR division heads for the suspension of Rafizi, who is her predecessor, alongside eight other PKR MPs, following their demand for an RCI.
Rafizi told Malaysiakini that Nurul Izzah’s action puts the party “in a funny spot” and that it would now be seen as a mere afterthought.
He also took his party’s critics to task, questioning whether they would now call for Nurul Izzah’s suspension after she attended the march. - Mkini

---