GEORGE TOWN, Dec 25 — PKR’s Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee today said the country’s judiciary system must be reformed, starting with amendments to the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 (Act 695).

Ong said the government needs to regain public confidence in the judiciary by selecting judges through an independent commission.

He said the selection panel in the independent commission must consist of people with a high level of integrity, but not politicians.

"The Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 (Act 695), in short, places the nation’s judiciary in a conundrum by vesting absolute powers in the Prime Minister to appoint and remove members of the said commission,” he said in a statement.

Ong said the primary intention of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is to uphold the independence of the judiciary.

"Nevertheless, the governing Act itself does not empower its members with an effective check and balance mechanism,” he said.

Ong said the final approval for the appointment of judges to the superior courts should not be left to one person, namely, the prime minister. 

He said Section 5(1) of the JAC Act is flawed as only four members of the commission are included by default while five are appointed by the prime minister. 

"When five out of nine members of the Judiciary Appointment Committee are all hand-picked by the prime minister, it becomes tremendously impossible for the judiciary to be impartial and partisan to political inclinations,” he said.

He claimed that the country now has a failed judiciary where judges bow to their political masters in order to gain advancements and promotions.

"For a respectable, independent and impartial judiciary, there must be a strong political will to carry out such reforms to ensure that political influences are kept at bay,” he said.

Ong said the JAC Act 2009 took away the powers of the chief justice to propose the appointment and promotion of judges.

"It further removes the powers of the Agong to being simply a rubber stamp, by empowering only one person, that is the prime minister,” he said.

The "feudalistic” system that sees a few favoured candidates receive appointments through invitations and secret deals must be abolished, he continued.

Ong suggested that Putrajaya adopt a system similar to the Constitutional Reform Act that the UK Parliament enacted in 2005.

He said it is an independent body for the appointment of judges to ensure that the executive branch does not interfere with the judicial appointments process.

"Members of the Judicial Appointments Commission are selected through an open competition, other than the three members from the judiciary,” he said.

He said it is only this way that the country can regain public confidence in the judiciary.

"An untainted and independent Judicial Appointment Commission will bring back impartiality and shine to our country’s judiciary,” he added.