SIX former presidents of the Malaysian Bar are calling on its members to once again rise and fearlessly defend the institution of the judiciary.

The prominent lawyers in a petition to their members said that recent events have shown a total disregard by certain quarters for the hallowed principle of the independence of the judiciary.

This was happening through actions that can only be described as an intimidation of this vital institution, they added.

“We the members of the Bar urge the Bar Council to organise a walk urgently to send a clear message to those that seek to interfere with the Judiciary.

“So, that this intimidation cannot be countenanced as it is a blatant violation of the rule of law. We must act now!” they said in the petition.

The former presidents are Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Yeo Yang Poh, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Lim Chee Wee, Mah Weng Kwai and Steven Thiruneelakandan.

On April 27, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the criticisms towards judges and the judiciary in recent days had gone overboard.

She said while judges are open to criticisms, especially when it comes to dealing with high profile cases, the recent attacks were too much.

“Of late, the judiciary has been dealing with high profile, public interest cases. It is normal for judges to receive criticism from parties who are unhappy with the decision of the courts.

“However, the criticism levelled against the judges and the judiciary in the last few days, in my opinion, has gone overboard,” Tengku Maimun said.

It had been reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) have opened an investigation on Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali over allegations of unexplained money in his account.

Nazlan was the judge who convicted former prime minister Najib Razak over the misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.

The blog Malaysia Today posted claims that Nazlan is being investigated for an unexplained RM1 million in his account.

Before becoming a judge, Nazlan had been general counsel and company secretary for Maybank.

Nazlan had lodged a police report against the blog, saying the accusations were malicious, baseless and aimed at tarnishing his credibility as a judge.

In 2014, the Bar Council had organised a ‘Walk for Peace and Freedom 2014’ at the Padang Merbok, in Kuala Lumpur.

The event saw some 600 members of the Bar Council and NGO representatives joining the walk of solidarity to repeal the Sedition Act 1948. – May 4, 2022.