BAR Council president George Varughese stressed today that the Malaysian Bar does not question the abilities, capabilities or suitability of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif and President of the Court of Appeal Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, and in fact welcomed their respective appointments on April 1, 2017.

Raus and Zulkefli were originally supposed to end the tenures on August 3 and September 27, respectively.

However, Varughese said in appointing their successors, the scheme must be adhered to, as stipulated in the Federal Constitution.

“To do otherwise would potentially allow them to remain in judicial office indefinitely,” he said in a statement today.

Varughese said the manner in which the recently announced appointments was undertaken “is questionable, and lends to the inference that there is a dearth of suitable candidates among the current members of the Federal Court, which the Malaysian Bar believes is not true.”

Constitutional debacle looms

He said such a perception will result in a “widespread and severe erosion” of public confidence in the judiciary and its independence and raise a question in the public mind as to why the appointments are being made at all, and in this manner.

Varughese said the appointments caused an “undeserved disservice” to sitting Federal Court judges and other judges, who were being deprived of the opportunity for promotion and, in particular, Federal Court judges who were due to retire before the expiry of the appointments.

Recalling the constitutional crisis that had adversely affected the judiciary in 1988, which caused repercussions for decades, Varughese said the judiciary could ill afford another “constitutional debacle”.

“When the current chief justice and the president of the court of appeal took their oaths of judicial office, they pledged to uphold the Federal Constitution. They should now fulfil their vows by declining the appointments,” he added.

“It would be deeply regrettable and unfair to unnecessarily embroil their lordships in controversy at this stage of their careers.” – July 9, 2017.