By Saw Yee Fung
The recent judicial crisis is only a symptom of a broader erosion of the separation of powers in Malaysia. The repeated extensions of MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki’s tenure, alongside the appointments and retirements of Attorney Generals, point to a worrying concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister. This directly contradicts Pakatan Harapan’s earlier pledge to transfer key appointment powers to Parliament.
The Federal Constitution grants the Prime Minister authority to appoint senior public officials, including the Attorney General, the MACC Chief, and the Chief Justice. However, Pakatan Harapan had previously promised to decentralise these powers to Parliament and to separate the roles of Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor. These reforms remain unfulfilled. Over the past three years, the Prime Minister’s unilateral decisions have further weakened public trust in the government.
When in opposition, Pakatan Harapan leaders had called for Tan Sri Azam Baki’s resignation following allegations of excessive shareholdings. Yet since coming to power, he has been reappointed three times. This has only fuelled public scepticism, particularly in relation to cases such as the Sabah state assembly corruption case and the ongoing MyKiosk controversy, where investigators concluded that there was no criminal element just one day after inquiries began.
Former MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Abu Kassim warned that anti-corruption bodies lose all purpose if they lack credibility. Likewise, a lawyer recently remarked that if the judiciary is unjust, there is little reason to seek justice in the courts.
The judicial crisis centres on the Prime Minister’s apparent interference in judicial appointments. Of the 14 current Federal Court judges, 9 will reach the mandatory retirement age of 66 this year. On 10 July, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz told the media that Chief Justice Tengku Maimun was denied an extension after allegedly suggesting at an international forum that Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar had interfered in judicial appointments.
Two days later, media outlets revealed what appeared to be minutes from a Judicial Appointments Commission meeting. These suggested that a Federal Court Judge, then serving as Attorney General, had used his position to influence appointments and halt proceedings in a significant case. The government’s move to classify the minutes as official secrets and initiate police investigations into the leak only strengthens public concern.
While clarity on the next Chief Justice may soon emerge, the larger issue remains. The Prime Minister must end all interference and honour reform commitments by transferring key appointment powers to Parliament.
Saw Yee Fung
MCA Youth Secretary General
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