KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The Malaysian Bar has come out in defence of Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, whose recent remarks on judicial reform have been criticised by former law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz as “insinuating political interference in the judiciary”.

In a statement on Monday, Bar Council president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab warned that mischaracterising the Chief Justice’s comments risks undermining public confidence in the judiciary.

“These statements, regrettably, have not only taken Her Ladyship’s comments out of context, but have also sensationalised them to a degree that threatens to erode the very public trust upon which the judiciary depends,” Ezri said.

In an interview with a local news portal, Nazri had accused Tengku Maimun of insinuating political interference in the judiciary during her keynote address at the 24th Commonwealth Law Conference in Malta on April 8.

He also took issue with her expressed support for removing the prime minister’s role in judicial appointments, framing it as a direct affront to current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

However, the Malaysian Bar clarified that the Chief Justice’s remarks were made in the context of strengthening judicial impartiality and enhancing the credibility of the appointment process.

Quoting the official speech text, the Bar highlighted that Tengku Maimun had said, "Of late, there have been proposals to amend the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 and the Federal Constitution to remove the role of the prime minister in the appointment of judges. Such changes in my view, would reinforce the impartiality of the selection process, ensuring that judicial appointments remain firmly grounded on merit and free from any perception of political influence.”

The Bar described the statement as "clearly directed at necessary reforms", and that the Chief Justice "expressed her views in a measured and objective tone".

It reiterated that the independence of the judiciary must be safeguarded from undue interference, and reforms that insulate judicial appointments from political pressure are necessary in a mature democracy.

"The credibility of the courts depends not only on the quality of its judges, but on the integrity of the process by which they are appointed," Ezri said.

The statement comes amid a constitutional suit filed by lawyer Datuk Wira Syed Amir Syakib Arsalan Syed Ibrahim, who is seeking to strike down the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Act 2009. The plaintiff contends that the JAC framework allows excessive government and prime ministerial influence in judicial appointments, allegedly breaching Article 122B of the Federal Constitution, which governs the appointment of judges.

Syed Amir is asking the court to declare the JAC unconstitutional and to suspend all judicial appointments made under its framework until the matter is resolved. He further argues that judicial appointments should proceed based solely on the constitutional provisions without JAC involvement.

The Bar has also applied to join as an intervener in the suit, contending that it can offer critical perspectives to support the preservation of judicial independence and constitutional order.

In response, the government said it is committed to undertaking a comprehensive review of the JAC framework, even as it intends to "vigorously defend" the constitutionality of the JAC Act 2009. Anwar, however, assured that there will be no interference in the ongoing legal process.

Since its establishment in 2009, the JAC has made 521 judicial appointments, including four chief justices of Malaysia and five presidents of the Court of Appeal.

The most recent judicial appointments by the JAC were Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim as Chief Judge of Malaya, and former attorney general Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh as a Federal Court judge.

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