KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The Malaysian Bar said today it will hold its "Walk for Judicial Independence” on June 17 to protest the unprecedented manner in which the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) decided to publicly announce a criminal investigation against an appellate court judge who convicted Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In a circular distributed to lawyers today, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah Yee Lynn said the march to uphold the independence of the judiciary will start 10am that day from Padang Merbok to the Parliament with lawyers wearing their chamber attire.
"The Malaysian Bar strongly views that any investigation of Superior Court Judges by law enforcement agencies must be done in a manner that does not erode judicial independence and public confidence in the Judiciary.
"The Malaysian Bar also recognises that any complaint against Superior Court Judges and investigation by law enforcement agencies, if given undue and unwarranted publicity, will have a far-reaching impact on the independence of the Judiciary, and the public confidence reposited in the Judiciary,” she said in the circular.
On May 27, The Malaysian Bar voted to hold a peaceful protest to uphold judicial independence, and to also condemn the MACC's recent controversial investigation into judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali in their extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
The Bar had previously held similar walks in 2007 in Putrajaya, and two other walks in 2011 and 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.
In April, the Bar had said that MACC's investigation against the trial judge — who heard former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s case of RM42 million misappropriated from SRC International Sdn Bhd — would undermine the independence of the courts and is unconstitutional.
The Malaysian Bar pointed out that there is already an existing mechanism in the Federal Constitution to deal with alleged ethical breaches by judges, and also cautioned that Malaysia should not give in to “keyboard warriors” who carry out online attacks on the courts’ independence.
The investigation was launched following a blog post by fugitive Raja Petra Kamaruddin, which has been accused of being false and baseless.
The Malaysian Bar, which is the professional legal body which represents 20,556 lawyers in Peninsular Malaysia and the federal territories as of early February, was defending the judiciary from recent attacks and standing in support of Malaysian judges who are independent and with integrity.
