Since when is MACC empowered to investigate judges' ethics, asks lawyer

A senior lawyer has questioned the recent revelation by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said that Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali who convicted Najib Razak in 2020 was found to have violated the Judges' Code of Ethics. 

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Rafique Rashid asked when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was given the jurisdiction to investigate a judge in the country's judicial system. 

According to the The Judges' Ethics Committee Act 2010, he said, full power in this regard clearly rests with the chief justice as the head of the committee. 

Section 5(1) (Committee Membership) states that the committee must comprise an odd number of individuals who hold office or have held office as president of the Court of Appeal, chief justice of the High Court in Malaya, chief justice of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, and judges of the Federal Court, Court of Appeal or High Court, as deemed appropriate by the chief justice of the Federal Court. 

Section 5(2) meanwhile states: "The chief justice of the Federal Court shall be the chairman of the Committee, unless he or she is the complainant in that matter, in which case the next senior judge shall be the chairman." 

Azalina, who holds the portfolio of law and institutional reform, said on April 6 that the MACC, in a letter dated Feb 21, had said that it submitted a report on Nazlan to the chief justice in connection with the breach of the Judges' Code of Ethics.

She said MACC's investigation into Nazlan had found him involved in conflict of interest when leading the former prime minister's SRC International case.

But Rafique said that the committee's investigation proceedings should be conducted in private, without public knowledge. 

"Judicial integrity is an important matter," he said. 

"But the minister and MACC have announced it to the whole world." 

Azalina has been under fire, including from legal practitioners who said her statement on MACC's investigation amounted to an attack on Malaysia's judicial institutions. 

On social media, many also urged her to provide an explanation. 

"Azalina must resign as minister of law and institutional reform as she cannot maintain her impartiality in her job," said Twitter user Eddy Daud.

Others meanwhile interpreted Azalina's actions as an attempt to save Najib, who recently lost his final legal bid to overturn his conviction and 12-year prison sentence. 

"She should resign. She is showing her bias towards the convicted felon Najib Razak who committed the largest single case of kleptocracy in the world!" said Twitter user Rais Husin.

"She should resign and fight for Najib!"

Rafique also questioned the timing of the MACC letter which has been making the rounds on social media, saying Azalina's statement was also in line with the time frame for the confirmation of Najib's latest pardon application letter. 

"If we scrutinise the Federal Court judgment, we will find that the conflict of interest claim against Nazlan was clearly said to have no merit," he said. 

"Now, claims of a violation of the code of ethics have surfaced instead, as if to question Nazlan's decision after the appeal process is over. Is this not strange?"