PUTRAJAYA (July 10): Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat urged those who accuse judges of misconduct to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) instead of make comments on social media without providing any evidence.
In a speech at an elevation ceremony at the Palace of Justice today, Tengku Maimun said certain parties are trying to paint a picture that there are judges involved in bribery.
"If it is true that there are judges involved in bribery, I urge the parties that have that information to file a report with the MACC, so that investigations and relevant actions in accordance with the law can be taken.
"Filing a report with the MACC is more beneficial for the judiciary, compared with posting and making wild accusations on social media without providing any evidence," she said.
Tengku Maimun said news travels quickly nowadays and that postings on social media will spread throughout the nation and the world, adding that the readers of these postings may not have an avenue to check the legitimacy of information on social media.
She, however, emphasised that the judiciary was never of the position that judges cannot be criticized. Instead, she said, the judiciary is open to constructive criticisms.
But the criticisms must be genuine "with reasonable courtesy within the limits of the law".
Making baseless accusations, the Chief Justice said, would erode the trust of the people in the judicial system, in which everyone loses, as "the courts of law are the last bastion of justice for the ordinary citizens".
Moreover, the courts cannot compel the public prosecutor to initiate any criminal proceedings against any individual or party if the public prosecutor does not intend to do so, said Tengku Maimun.
The courts are also unable to compel the public prosecutor to carry on a case if the public prosecutor has decided to cease or withdraw.
"Just because there are third parties that disagree with the decision of the public prosecutor to not carry on with a case in court, it does not mean that the court or the judges had acted dishonestly, or are conspiring with any party or are involved in bribery," Tengku Maimun said.
She said it is "extremely disturbing" that the judiciary has been under attack recently, just because the public prosecutor decided to withdraw the accusations in several high profile cases.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice reminded the newly promoted Federal Court judges, Court of Appeal judges and judicial commissioners (JC) to never take their oath lightly.
She highlighted the code of ethics and emphasised several points including that judges must not conduct themselves in a way that would tarnish the reputation of the judiciary, as well as not take part in any political activity or behave in a way that will give the perception that they are involved in politics.
Tengku Maimun noted that there were judges that performed excellently during their time as JC, but had subsequently underperformed after being confirmed as High Court judges.
She said while their tenure of service is confirmed and guaranteed, the judges are responsible for hearing cases that have been filed with their respective courts, making the right decisions over a reasonable period of time and give their judgment without delay.
"As judges, we do not pick and choose disputes that we wish to hear. We adjudicate all cases that come before us. We are therefore bound to hear cases which attract public attention and which involve political figures, from whichever side of the divide.
"The reality is that, no matter how impartial we are or how detached we are from politics, our decisions will be viewed from a political perspective or with a political flavour, because unfortunately, public perception of the judiciary is shaped by the political landscape.
"In that regard, we must be prepared to withstand public scrutiny and be prepared to swallow the hurtful, unfair and baseless allegations against us, if our decisions do not tally with public opinion. But let it be known that we do not decide cases based on popular public views, rather, we decide cases based on the evidence and the law," she added.
The ceremony today saw the elevation of three Court of Appeal judges to Federal Court judges, namely Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Rodzariah Bujang.
Eight High Court judges were promoted to Court of Appeal judges, namely Datuk Indera Mohd Suffian Abd Razak, Datuk Supang Lian, Datuk Lee Heng Chong, Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin, Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Gunalan Muniandy, Datuk Nordin Hassan and Darryl Goon Siew Chye.
Appointed as JCs were Datuk Zaleha Rose Pandin, Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid, Dr Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari, Datuk Amirudin Abd Rahman, Mahazan Mat Taib, Bhupindar Singh, Alice Loke Yee Ching, Ahmad Murad Abdul Aziz, Liza Chan Sow Keng, Wan Muhammad Amin Yahya and Alexander Siew How Wai.