MATTERS pertaining to the conduct of judges should not be discussed in parliament, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah said today.  

Cheah said revealing details of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali in parliament violated Article 127 of the Federal Constitution. 

“Somebody should have stopped any of those MPs from raising (the matter) in parliament.  

“The Dewan Rakyat speaker could have stopped it by referring to the Standing Order or in fact any of the MPs within parliament could have actually raised the point.  

“Article 127 of the Federal Constitution is very clear. You don’t want the conduct of judges to be smeared in parliament because then it is very easily open to abuse,” Cheah said after holding a public forum titled “MACC, the ex-PM and the Independence of the Judiciary”.  

Article 127 restricts parliamentary discussion on the conduct of judges. Discussion can only take place by way of a substantive motion of which notice is given by not less than one quarter of its members. State assemblies are prohibited from discussing the conduct of the judiciary. 

Law and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said had previously provided an oral reply in the Dewan Rakyat on February 23 about the MACC investigation into Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and its outcome. 

Azalina had said MACC – in a letter dated February 21 – had submitted a report on Nazlan to the chief justice in connection with a breach of the Judges’ Code of Ethics 2009. 

Meanwhile, in a letter dated March 20, Azalina gave confirmation to Najib Razak’s lawyers Messrs. Shafee & Co. that MACC had concluded that Nazlan had violated the Judges’ Code of Ethics when presiding over Najib’s corruption trial involving SRC International. 

Nazlan, who was the High Court judge then, had convicted and sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds. The case was elevated to the Court of Appeal. 

On this, Cheah stressed that the issue of conflict and the Judges’ Code of Ethics 2009 were clearly not matters for MACC.  

“MACC is only empowered to investigate or make findings on matters which are within its realm,” she said.  

“These are generally matters pertaining to corruption, abuse of power and position, and other offences which are contemplated for and specified under the MACC Act.   

“The conflict and the Judges’ Code of Ethics 2009 are not matters that the Act was set up for or intended to regulate,” she added. 

Cheah also said lawmakers should not be raising questions about the conduct of judges in both houses of parliament.  

Nazlan, before serving as a judicial officer, had been general counsel for Maybank, which Najib’s lawyers contended would have exposed the judge to knowledge pertaining to SRC International, posing a conflict of interest. 

Cheah also said lawmakers should speak up about the importance of having an independent judiciary in the country.  

“Regardless of which political party one comes from, if you are an MP, you should be speaking in the interest of what is important for the country and citizens. 

“Surely, they all believe in an independent judiciary, and they all want one,” she said. – April 19, 2023.