THE court does not have the power to direct or urge the public prosecutor to file or withdraw charges against any party in criminal cases, said Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

“The court cannot force or push the prosecution to proceed with a trial on a charge brought in court, if the prosecution has decided to drop or withdraw the charge,” she said.

“This is the legal situation in our country,” she said in her speech at the oathtaking and loyalty ceremony of Federal Court and Appeals Court judges, as well as judicial commissioners, at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.

She said just because there were third parties who disagreed with the prosecutor’s decision not to proceed with charges that have been filed in court, this does not mean that the court or judges had acted dishonestly, conspired, were in favour of any particular party or were involved in corrupt practices.

“It is deeply saddening and extremely disturbing that of late, the judiciary has been repeatedly criticised only because the prosecutor, in exercising their discretionary power under Article 15 Clause (3) of the federal constitution, decides to withdraw some charges in some high-profile cases,” said Maimun.

Maimun said the decision could only be made by the public prosecutor, not by other parties, including the court.

Meanwhile, the public has little to no way of confirming the validity of what is written in news reports, and assume such news, even on social media, to be true.

In her speech, she said the judiciary has never taken the stand that judges should not be criticised and that it is instead ready to accept constructive criticism concerning decisions made by the courts.

“The judiciary is responsible to the community and any constructive criticism can further improve quality in executing justice,” she said.

However, Maimun said the criticism should be honest and with reasonable courtesy within the limits of the law.

She added that judges should not pick and choose disputes they wish to hear.

“We adjudicate all cases that come before us. We are, therefore, bound to hear cases that attract public attention and that involve political figures, from whichever side of the divide,” said Maimun, who added that judges do not decide cases based on popular public views but on evidence and the law.

She said the reality is that, no matter how impartial or detached judges are from politics, their decisions would be viewed from a political perspective or with a political flavour, because the public perception of the judiciary is shaped by the political landscape. 

“In that regard, we must be prepared to withstand public scrutiny and be prepared to swallow the hurtful, unfair and baseless allegations against us if our decisions do not tally with public opinion.” – Bernama, July 10, 2020.