KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Attorney General (AG) Tommy Thomas has been given the go-ahead to file contempt proceedings against Arun Kasi over the private lawyer’s two articles that allegedly criticised the judiciary.

A three-judge panel at the Federal Court chaired by Tan Sri Ramli Ali gave leave for the contempt proceedings and scheduled March 13 for the court to sit on it, Malaysiakini reported today.

The news portal reported senior federal counsel Datuk Amarjeet Singh saying Arun’s remarks had “scandalised the judges and the court” in his articles questioning the Federal Court’s decision to expunge a dissenting judgment in a corporate case between Leap Modulation Sdn Bhd and PCP Construction Sdn Bhd by Court of Appeal judge Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer.

Amarjeet reportedly said Arun’s remarks implied misconduct and corruption on the other judges who decided on the case.

Advertisement

According to the news report, Arun had questioned the apex court’s decision to firstly expunge Hamid’s dissenting judgment in a hearing on the Asian International Arbitration Centre's (AIAC) bid to intervene in the corporate case and secondly, expunge the same judge’s order for the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the AIAC.

Hamid is at the centre of a storm that has prompted the government to form a royal commission of inquiry into the judiciary following allegations of misconduct and meddling by some senior judges.

He filed an affidavit two weeks citing the expunction of his ruling as an example of judicial misconduct.

Advertisement