Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim’s Makes Political Appointments In Key Judiciary And Law Enforcement Positions – Analysis
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Photo Credit: Malaysia PM Office
Over the last month there has been much political controversy over the vacant position for chief justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia. The position became vacant on July 2, when the chief Justice Tengku Maimun tenure was not extended for 6 months, as statutory regulations permit. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim allowed the position to become vacant for a month, because of inaction in recommending a new candidate for the position to Malaysia’s king Sultan Ismail.
Initially, there was much conjecture as it was rumored that Justice Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, who was a former Attorney General of Malaysia had been nominated for the position. There were cries of political interference within the judiciary, if such as person was appointed. Forner minister Rafizi Ramli and a group of nine MPs from Anwar Ibrahim’s own Peoples Justice Party (PKR) had held a public meeting protesting about the lack of independence of the judiciary. In addition, the Malaysian Bar Association, the peak body of lawyers in Malaysia held a protest march from the Federal Court to the prime minister’s office in protest. Between 1,000-3,000 participated.
Anwar claimed that he personally had not interfered in the selection of the future chief justice and will not make any selection, even though Article 122B of the Malaysian Constitution specifically specifies that the chief justice will be appointed by the king, on advice from the prime minister and consultation of the Council of Rulers.
Nevertheless, Anwar still succeeded in exercising influence over the CJ appointment, contrary to his claims that he would play no part in the appointment process of the nation’s judges. The recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC), set up by legislation in 2009 to advise the prime minister, wasn’t listened to.
Political Intrigue
Sometimes one pushes a candidate as a test. People reject the idea and a compromise becomes publicly acceptable. This appears just like the leaking of the name Justice Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, who was a former Attorney General of Malaysia. This received great resistance as described above.
However, there was a back-up name, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who was set to appear when there is too much resistance and outcry, as a pleasant surprise. Then Anwar was able to get up the person he may have wanted in the first place. A great piece of political maneuvering.
Justice Wan Ahmad got both the approval of the king and Conference of Rulers, and is now chief justice designate. News of his appointment was released by the palace at 12.15 am on July 18. Local news in Malaysia portrayed this as a win for the independence of the judiciary.
The appointment is unprecedented in Malaysia with Justice Wan Ahmad coming up from the Court of Appeal. Previous chief justice appointments have come from members of the Federal Court itself. This means Wan Ahmad jumped not only over 10 Federal Court judges, but 22 judges more senior than him within the High Court. That means Wan Ahmad jumped over 32 people more senior than him to get the job. This is unprecedented in any chief justice position within the British based legal world, including Britain, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand.
Worries over impartiality
Wan Ahmad Farid was a member of UMNO and served as deputy home minister from March 2008 to April 2009 under prime minister Ahmad Abdullah Badawi. Anwar most probably was recommended Wan Ahmad from Law Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said, who is reported to be a confident of the prime minister. Wan Ahmad was once a staunch UMNO man.
There are concerns that Wan Ahmad may not be able to be impartial over matters including UMNO politicians, including former prime minister Najib Razak, who is still on trial for 1MDB corruption cases, and Anwar’s own upcoming cases about to face the judicial system.
Wan Ahmad presided over the application for a judicial review by the parents of Teoh Beng Hock against the police and Tun Daim Zainuddin’s challenge against his probe by the MACC. The question is, will Wan Ahmad excuse himself from any future political cases?
Concerns within the judiciary when meritocracy takes a back seat
Some members of the law profession told the writer that the appointment of Wan Ahmad over more senior judges can be considered a ‘slap in the face’ for those who have worked hard, created a good track record and have integrity. Anwar’s message to the judiciary is that political connection is more important than meritocracy. This is already leading to a loss of morale within the judiciary.
Another concern is the failure to extend Tengku Maimun’s tenure for another six months means that integrity is not valued. Some are concerned the judiciary maybe heading back to the controversial days of the judiciary under Justic Mohd Eusoff Chin and Hamid Abdul Omar. The judiciary has regained trust and integrity since those days.
Other political appointments by Anwar
The appointment of Justice Wan Ahmad completes the law enforcement and judiciary troika. The appointment of Azam Baku as Commissioner General of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is well documented, and has led to almost continuous persecution of opposition politicians. Azam has is now in his second contract extension. This is preventing the rise of other senior persons in the service.
The appointment of Mohd Khalid as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) last June also involved him leapfrogging over other people who were more senior than him. The current deputy IGP Ayob Khan had a great track record in fighting crime. The criminal community fears him.
Now the ladder of promotion has been broken, not once but a number of times. This is demoralizing for police and members of the judiciary. Political cabals are now more important than experience, seniority and track records. IGP Mohd Khalid mixed with the elite, while serving with the home ministry.
This compromises meritocracy in leadership with political hacks. If there were special reasons Wan Ahmad was appointed chief justice, then prime minister Anwar Ibrahim should be proudly calling a press conference to explain the reasons Wan Ahmad had inspired him so much for him to recommend to the Agong Wan Ahmad’s appointment.
The real victim is public trust and apathy of Malaysians. They now see Madani as a purely political animal that is not safeguarding the culture, seniority, and morale of the civil service. Such appointments will discourage civil service trust in the prime minister, because he doesn’t care for them. This is another major blow to integrity. Madani rewards the politicians.
Murray Hunter
Murray Hunter has been involved in Asia-Pacific business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, academic, and researcher. As an entrepreneur he was involved in numerous start-ups, developing a lot of patented technology, where one of his enterprises was listed in 1992 as the 5th fastest going company on the BRW/Price Waterhouse Fast100 list in Australia. Murray is now an associate professor at the University Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time consulting to Asian governments on community development and village biotechnology, both at the strategic level and “on the ground”. He is also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the region. Murray is the author of a number of books, numerous research and conceptual papers in referred journals, and commentator on the issues of entrepreneurship, development, and politics in a number of magazines and online news sites around the world. Murray takes a trans-disciplinary view of issues and events, trying to relate this to the enrichment and empowerment of people in the region.
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