THE chief justice must immediately investigate allegations of scandals and corruption in the judiciary following the confession of a former magistrate who had been convicted of corruption, said Ramkarpal Singh.

The Bukit Gelugor MP was responding to an article published by Malaysiakini highlighting the story of ex-magistrate Firdaus Ramlan, who described how bribes were offered through a middleman when he was a magistrate.

Firdaus had said that this “system that was already in place”, which everyone knew about.

Ramkarpal, who is also DAP National Legal Bureau chairman, said in a statement that Firdaus’s revelations are serious and cannot escape the attention of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

“According to Firdaus, such practices have been going on long before he assumed his role as a magistrate, which raises the question whether such practices are confined to only where he was based or throughout the country,” said Ramkarpal.

“Other questions include whether such practices are confined to the lower courts or extend to higher courts throughout the country.

“It is important for such investigations to extend to all courts throughout the country and this can only be done with the co-operation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which must play its part to keep corruption away from the very institution entrusted to combat it.

“I urge the chief justice to commence investigations immediately into Firdaus’s allegation and for the MACC to act forthwith, perhaps by launching covert operations in courts to ascertain the veracity of his allegation,” he said.

Firdaus, serving at Gua Musang Magistrate’s Court, was arrested in 2009 for corruption and was jailed for five years.

In the interview with Malaysiakini, he recounted how “brokers” were among those who greeted him when he reported for work as a young magistrate.

“These are the middlemen, between me and the crooks. When I reported for duty for the first time, they paid for my meals and secured a place for me to stay,” he had said.

At the time, Firdaus’s monthly income was RM1,500 but he said he did not touch a single sen from this because he could earn as much as RM10,000 per case on the side.

He was detained by the MACC following a botched deal between a suspected drug dealer and the police. – February 6, 2021.