KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — The government must form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) immediately to investigate allegations of judicial misconduct, said veteran lawyers.
In an interview on Agenda Awani tonight by host Kamarul Bahrin Haron, lawyers, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla and Arun Kasi, agreed that an RCI is needed to rectify any misconduct within the judiciary.
When Kamarul asked if an investigation into judicial misconduct would be the final move for the country to remove any traces of kleptocracy and corruption, Haniff concurred.
“Yes and we need to hurry, that is why the RCI must be formed by a special task force ‘yesterday’
“To start, it is now up to the executive to appoint a special task force (to investigate),’’ he said.
The call for an RCI was made by Court of Appeal judge Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer in a shocking affidavit recently, which detailed alleged misconduct by members of the judiciary.
Haniff added that an RCI is appropriate to investigate the claims as they can do so in a transparent manner.
In the interview, Haniff opined that before an RCI is formed, a special task force consisting of a judge, a private practice lawyer and a lawyer from the Attorney-General’s Office, who retired before the year 2000, could help with the investigations
“This is because we do not want those who could be tainted or might be involved in the allegations,’’ he said.
Arun, who is also an adjudicator and arbitrator, explained that an RCI would have widespread powers compared to the MACC or the police to investigate such claims.
“The allegations are very wide. So for this reason, if you think in a conventional way, can the MACC or police investigate, that is going to be difficult.
“The first reason is that the MACC and the police would be the executive arm of the government and they cannot take a statement from a judge unless a judge gives it voluntarily.
“If they manage to get a report from the judge irrespective if it is voluntary or not, it would be a breach of the separation of power.
“So we are having a situation where the Police and the MACC cannot handle. Who else can handle this, that is why we have the RCI which has had wide power constituted under the Commission of Inquiry Act,’’ he said.
