PETALING JAYA: Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh’s appointment as the new Chief Justice has somewhat eased public concerns over the independence of the judiciary, but it still received mixed reactions, say several PKR MPs.

This was because of Wan Ahmad Farid’s background as a former Umno leader, and he is also seen as more junior than some other judges, they said in a joint statement on Friday (July 18).

It was issued by Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa), Wong Chen (Subang), Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju), Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (Balik Pulau), Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (Ledang), S. Kesavan (Sungai Siput) and Onn Abu Bakar (Batu Pahat).

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The MPs said that Wan Ahmad Farid’s appointment, together with those of Datuk Abu Bakar Jais as Court of Appeal president and Datuk Azizah Nawawi as Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, completes the top leadership of the judiciary for the time being.

They hoped that Wan Ahmad Farid would accept the different views of his appointment with an open mind.

“It should serve as a guide and encouragement to prove that his leadership will defend the independence of the judiciary, surpassing the excellent record of Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

“We hope Wan Ahmad Farid will continue efforts to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and resolve several issues, including finalising the appointment of 31 vacancies for judges as soon as possible, to avoid disruption to the flow of judicial administration.

“The appointment of judges should be based on merit and seniority, so that it is fair to judges who have served for a long time and are responsible for maintaining the quality and good reputation of the judiciary,” they said.

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They added that the appointment of judges must follow due process under the Federal Constitution and the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 without any interference to manipulate, control, or influence the process that is contrary to the principles of the independence of the judiciary.

They urged that issues that have been raised in previous JAC meetings, including follow-up action to investigate allegations of attempting to influence judicial decisions made against a Federal Court judge, be resolved.

Additionally, they highlighted that the recent crisis in the appointment of judiciary leadership signals the need for reforms to further strengthen the process of appointing judges, so that this matter does not recur.

They pointed out that the administration under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not view the matter as completely resolved without improvements to the judicial appointment process.

To this end, they proposed that the prime minister’s power to reject the list of nominations from the JAC be improved and limited, with an official reason (either to the JAC or Parliament) required as to why a candidate screened by the JAC has been rejected.

Other proposals include candidates from the legal bodies of the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak automatically appointed to the JAC, reducing the prime minister’s power to appoint the majority of JAC members.

“We also propose that Parliament be involved in confirming the nominations from the JAC before they are brought to the prime minister, either in the form of a confirmation hearing as is the case in other countries, or the form of a parliamentary vote (according to a voting mechanism that can be determined later).

“We will continue to pay attention to these matters so that there is a voice from the backbenchers to ensure that this reform process can continue,” they said.