KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): The Malaysian Bar Council plans to have a peaceful march as a sign of protest over the issue of judicial intimidation in the country.

This was decided when a resolution for the peace march was passed by its members on Friday at an emergency general meeting, said chairman Karen Cheah.

It also said that it would challenge the propriety of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's investigation on Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali — who sentenced former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to 12 years in jail and slapped him with an RM210 million fine in the SRC International graft trial — following a report made to the MACC about an allegedly unexplained sum of more than RM1 million found in his bank account.

“The Malaysian Bar shall take immediate and necessary steps to organise and lead a peaceful protest at a time and venue as the Bar Council deems suitable and such other steps as deemed appropriate by the Bar Council in its discretion, which may include to challenge the propriety and manner of the investigation commenced by the MACC on Justice Datuk Nazlan,” she said.

In a statement on April 21, the Federal Court chief registrar's office said Mohd Nazlan had denied the "false, baseless and malicious allegations", adding the allegations were aimed at undermining his credibility as an appellate court judge as well as disrupting the administration of criminal justice and the judiciary.

"The chief registrar's office takes such allegations and comments seriously and reminds the public that allegations against the judiciary aimed at interfering with cases that are in the process of trial are a violation of the principle of sub judice," it said.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had confirmed that Mohd Nazlan was being investigated after a report was lodged against the judge. The MACC had also, in a statement, defended its right to investigate the judge as it was in its jurisdiction to investigate any public official once a report is lodged against the said public official.

Cheah told reporters after the Malaysian Bar's EGM that the council is contemplating initiating a civil lawsuit against the MACC over this matter.

There is no definitive decision as yet, she said, adding the matter is still up for further discussion.

Meanwhile, Cheah said a meeting would be held on Saturday to discuss the planned peace march, and that representatives of the Advocates Association of Sarawak and the Sabah Law Society, who attended the EGM on Friday as observers, would also be invited to take part in the protest march.