PUTRAJAYA (Jan 9): The vacancies in the posts of Court of Appeal president, Chief Judge of Malaya, two Federal Court judges and nine Court of Appeal judges are expected to be filled soon, said Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
Tengku Maimun said the names of the candidates had been forwarded to the prime minister and also the Conference of Rulers for determination and approval.
Presently, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim is the acting Court of Appeal president, and Federal Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah is the acting Chief Judge of Malaya.
Tengku Maimun said the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has been sending names to the Prime Minister’s Department for consideration and consultation, and the names were also brought up to the Rulers Conference last November.
“The judiciary feels that the posts would be filled in soon,” she said at a press conference after officiating the launch of the Official Legal Year 2023.
When asked whether the names were given to the previous prime minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, or the 10th prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tengku Maimun said both.
“Some of the names were done previously (with Ismail) and some with the current PM (Anwar). There has been a meeting with the Rulers Conference where they considered several papers to fill vacancies at the various levels.
“What I cannot tell is I do not know how many of the names went up and [were] approved, and how many vacancies will actually be filled. But there will be some appointments and replacement of the vacancies soon,” she added.
The CJ said there are two vacancies in the Federal Court following the retirement of Federal Court judges Puan Sri Zaleha Yusof and Datuk Seri Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh.
The CJ was asked on the vacancies of the superior court judges which result in problems in empanelling quorum to hear cases on appeal at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
Tengku Maimun said the positions were supposed to be filled earlier but there had been a glitch. She did not reveal what the glitch involved was.
Normally, there are 14 Federal Court judges including the top four of the judiciary, and 33 Court of Appeal judges as stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
Support proposal PM does not appoint five JAC members
On the Rulers Conference’s suggestion that the appointment of five members in the JAC not be determined by the prime minister, Tengku Maimun said the issue had been discussed before the Rulers Conference and the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
“We welcome any suggestion and improvement to the judiciary. We feel that if the Judicial Appointments Commission Act [needs] to be amended or improved further, the provision [on] the appointment of judges as enshrined in the Federal Constitution needs to be scrutinised so that the appointment of the judges proposed by JAC and the Federal Constitution is done in tandem.
“In other words, we would not achieve the objective of having the appointment of the judiciary independent from the executive if the existing provision which requires the process of consultation with the prime minister remains,” she said.
This, she added, is to avoid the public perception who may want the non-participation of the executive in the real sense.
She added that is not her personal view but the view given when asked by the special task force that was set up to probe former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas's book.
“The judiciary was required by then to give its feedback [on] issues which had been raised by the (Tommy Thomas) task force and among the proposals [was] the improvement in the appointment of judges.
“In response to that proposal, we had in fact suggested there should be amendments made to the Federal Constitution as well so that the suggestion of the committee is given effect to,” she added.
Presently, under the JAC, the PM can propose five names to be appointed to the commission that oversees the appointment of superior court judges (High Court, Court of Appeal, and Federal Court judges).
Under Article 122B of the Federal Constitution, the appointment of the CJ, the Court of Appeal president, the Chief Judge of Malaya as well as the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, along with the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court judges, is made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the PM.
Last November, to ensure the independence of JAC in carrying out its responsibilities, the Rulers Conference proposed that the appointment of five out of nine members of the JAC not be made by the PM.
“Instead, it should be given to several other institutions such as the Malaysian Bar, Sabah Law Society, the Advocates Association of Sarawak and the Parliamentary Select Committee,” Tuanku Mukhriz, who chaired the Rulers Conference, said.
Last month, Tuanku Mukhriz also proposed that the JAC Act be incorporated as part of the Federal Constitution to ensure the independence of the judiciary.