This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 14, 2025 - April 20, 2025

Last week, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said during a speech that proposals to amend the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) so as to remove the role of the prime minister in the appointment of judges would reinforce the impartiality of the selection process.

Such a proposal, she added, would also help ensure that judicial appointments remain firmly based on merit and are free from any perception of political influence.

One day after her speech, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued a statement to say that the government was committed to undertaking a comprehensive review of the JAC amid a legal challenge on the law.

Anwar had said that the objective of the review was to enhance public trust, protect judicial independence and reinforce the separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive.

The legal challenge arose after a lawyer filed a lawsuit contending that the JAC violates the tenets of the separation of powers as it allows for government officials, including the prime minister, to influence judicial appointments.

The JAC is one of the measures to reinforce the independence of the judiciary, which came under assault by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1988, when he dismissed the then lord president Tun Salleh Abas.

While judicial appointments are still the prerogative of the prime minister and the rulers, the role of the JAC is to identify and assess candidates to ensure that only the most qualified are selected for judicial office. The commission is made up of nine members — the top four judicial administrators and five others who are appointed by the prime minister. The five include a senior Federal Court judge and four eminent persons.

The point of contention is that the prime minister wields too much influence by virtue of having a say in the appointment of JAC members.

Anwar promised institutional reforms when he took up the prime ministership in 2022. Amid complaints that reforms have been slow, the amendments to the JAC to ensure judicial appointees pass the test of integrity and competence in the eyes of their peers should be a priority.

This is crucial as several top positions in the judiciary, including the post of the chief justice, are up for review.

Given his struggle during his political career, Anwar should know that the judiciary should be free of political interference.

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