LAW and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said must have realised her mistake after she wrote to former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawyers that judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali might have breached the Judges Court of Ethics.She must have realised that this was uncalled for because ministers are not in the habit of replying to the queries of defence lawyers.Being in UMNO, she might have a soft spot for the former prime minister and UMNO president, Najib. This is understandable.But law and judicial independence must take precedence in the larger interest of the separation of powers.Anyway, she has done the right thing by saying that the executive branch has no business interfering with the judiciary.
It was up to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to disclose its findings to the Chief Justice and it is up to the latter to take action against Nazlan if at all there is case against him.The MACC or the government cannot be the judge, prosecutor and executioner.Certainly, Malaysia has come a long way not to repeat the infamous constitutional crises of 1988 under the former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.The conviction against Najib in the high court was upheld in the appeals court and later in the Apex Court. The subsequent judicial review was not in favour of Najib except for one dissenting vote.I think Najib has exhausted all his legal and constitutional avenues to overturn the earlier High Court decision by Nazlan.The next question is whether he will succeed in getting his pardon from Yang Dipertuan Agung.It is not that Najib should not get justice, he was innocent until he was proven guilty. It took months and years for the judicial system to reach the final verdict on Najib.Azalina is not an ordinary UMNO member, she is part of the cabinet of the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.Moreover, she is the De facto Law and Institutional Reform Minister.The Malaysian public expects uncompromising standards from her. Her public duty should outweigh all other calculations.Furthermore, Azalina definitely made a mistake by writing to Najib’s legal defence team to affirm the MACC report that Nazlan might have breached the ethical code of judges.Since then, she has distanced herself from the letter.She has further affirmed that it was up to the Chief Justice to act if Nazlan was found to have breached the judges’ code of ethics.The separation of powers between the judiciary, the executive and the legislative is so essential to the well-being of the country as a whole.It is really not about Najib, but the sanctity of the judicial system, which has taken so long to recover after its subjugation and humiliation by Dr Mahathir.The unity government predicated on reforms cannot compromise on the integrity of the judicial system. I am glad that Azalina is back on the original track. The public expects nothing less from her. — April 8, 2023
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
