CHIEF Justice Richard Malanjum welcomes Putrajaya’s plan for special courts to handle corruption cases.

“We are happy… to have more judges to hear these cases. We are very happy. It’s good that we will have more of these special courts,” he told reporters after a book launch at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said while the judiciary was not consulted prior to the announcement, “we have been requesting additional courts, so that the disposal of cases can be sped up”.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday said the government will work to amend laws to create the special courts at all levels of the judiciary.

Currently, there are 16 corruption courts nationwide, but only at the sessions court level, said Malanjum.

He said rulings in such cases are routinely appealed at the higher courts.

On whether there are enough judges for the new courts, he said: “We’ve got to identify the right persons. They are in the judiciary, but we have to identify them.

“Every trial takes time to complete. So, we may need more (judges), so that cases can be expedited.

“They’ll just hear corruption cases. That’s the approach, so that procedures are done quickly. One case takes (a long) time to finish, you know. And when there are so many, can you imagine how long it would take?”

De facto law minister Liew Vui Keong today told reporters that the proposal to create the special courts was not triggered by Najib Razak’s trial.

“There were views that our courts are busy with other cases,” he told a press conference in Penang.

“So, there is a need to set up special courts to handle corruption cases. They are for all corruption cases, not to speed up Najib’s cases.”

The former prime minister, who faces 42 criminal charges mostly related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd, is expected to undergo up to five trials. – March 20, 2019.