Judiciary free to carry out duties based on facts – PM Anwar

January 7, 2023

Judiciary free to carry out duties based on facts - PM Anwar

Judiciary free to carry out duties based on facts – PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: The Chief Justice of Malaysia and the country’s judiciary need to be given room to carry out their duties independently and professionally based on facts and laws, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

This was important to provide a clear signal to Malaysians that there is separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judiciary in conducting their duties in accordance with their respective capacities.

He noted that there were assumptions that the judiciary, which had long been held as an institution of irrefutable and unquestionable high standing, had been compromised by executive dominance.

According to Anwar, even the Bar Council of Malaysia and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) were of the view that defects and weaknesses existed within the present judiciary.

“We see in the past few years, there have been changes and appointments in the judiciary, but I haven’t interfered with a single appointment. I follow the Judicial Appointments Commission’s process and then the Chief Justice will forward (a name) and I will accept it,” he said during the ‘Special Narrative with the Prime Minister’ interview on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) tonight.

On the question of corruption and integrity, Anwar said he provided leeway to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to act and investigate fully, starting from the upper echleon.