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1988Vol8no.4

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1988Vol8no.4 THE LP ISSUE 2 CHARGES AGAINST LORD PRESIDENT We reproduce here in fuU, the five charges against the Lord President, one of which came about after the decision to suspend him was made- an afterthought? HEREAS it has been represented to (v) You accused government officers of not His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda performing their duties properly; and Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article (vi) You imputed that there was interference 125(3) of the Federal Constitution by the Government with the independence W that, on the ground of misbehaviour of the Juciciary. or for other causes which clearly show that you 2. At the launching of the book ·'Malaysian Law" are no longer able to discharge the functions of and "Law Justice and the Judiciary: Trans· Lord President properly and orderly, you ought nationa1 T;end", on the 12th' of January 1988, to be removed as Lord President. in your speech which is at Annexure "B", AND WHEREAS His Majesty Seri Paduka you made several statements discrediting the Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been pleased Government and thereby sought to undermine to establish a Tribunal to investigate and obtain public confidence in the Government's admini­ its report under Article 125(3) of the Federal stration of this country in accordance with law. Constitution. The short allegations against you are these: Particulars of the allegations for removing (i) After making reference to the role you as Lord President are as follows: of the Judges as acknowledged guardians I . On the occasion of the conferment of the of the Constitution, you accused the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters at the Government of undermining the iJ)de­ University of Malaya on the I st of August pendence of the Judiciary. You alleged 1987, in your speech which is at Annexure that "recently this ~ardianship has been "A". you made several statements criticising made an issue and our independence appears the Government which displayed prejudice to be under some kind of threat. This is and bias against the Government, and these amply borne out by some of the comments statements are incompatible with your position made recently which embarrassed the as Lord President of the Supreme Court. The judiciary a great deal. These remarks not short particulars are these: only questioned our neutraJity and inde­ (i) "Peranan Mahkamah adalah penting bagi pendence, but the very value of it as an mewujudkan ketenteraman awam. Jika tidak institution." ada ketenteraman, negeri akan menjadi (ii) You then alleged "that the Juciciary is the huru-hara ......" weakest of the three branches of Govern­ (ii) "Kerajaan tidak akan dapat memerintah, ment. It has no say in the allocation of Kerajaan tidak akan dapat menjalankan funds - not even in determining the number tugas jika tidak ada Mahkamah." of staff needed for the running of its own (iii) "Jika kita betul-betul berpegang kepada system." You thus imputed that the konsep kedaulatan undang-undang, keuta­ Government has ignored the important maan Mahkamah hendaklah diubah supaya role of the Judiciary in the governance of kebebasan terjamin dan kerja tidak the nation. terganggu." (iii) In your statement, you ridiculed the Govern­ (iv) You accused government officers in certain ment by alleging that the Government instances of not respecting one of the did not trust the Judges. You alleged: "In principles of Rukunegara, namely the a democratic system, courts play a promi­ rule of law, a1 though there is no evidence nent role as an agent of stability but they to that effect; can perform this function only if judges 3 are trusted. responsible government can allow the (iv) In the same speech you made special postulation of such •;iews b} tile Head of reference to the interpretative Iole of the Judiciary without causing fear and Judges and advocated the acceptance of consternation among its non-Muslim popu­ the Islamic Legal System not only in the Lation. Furthermore, your statement violates interpretation of the Civil Law of Malaysia established principles of judicial interpre­ but in its general application. In particular tation widely accepted in the couns in you advocated thus "This system consists Malaysia and in the Commonwealth. mostly of the Quran and Hadith (tradition 3. You adjourned sine die the case of Teoh Eng of Prophet Mohammad S.A.W.). The inter­ Huat v. Kadhi Pasir Mas, Kelantan and Another pretation of these two sources of law is done (Civil Appeal No. 220 of 1986) which involved according to the established and accepted the issue of a minor's choice of religion. methodology. Volumes of literature have 4. (i) In your letter to Their Royal Highnesses been written as commentaries and exegesis the Malay Rulers and His Majesty Seri of the Qu1anic law and the Prophet Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong Mohammad's Hadith or tradition. In this dated the 26th March 1988 which is at situation, not only is the judiciary bound Annexure "C", you said "Tetapi walaubagai­ by Islamic law as propounded by juris­ manapun patek sekalian bersabar dan consult (muftis, who give legal rulings on tidak suka menjawab lemparan-lemparan particular matters), but Parliament and the ini dengan secara umum kerana tindakan executive too are certainly bound by these semacam itu tidak seimbang dan setara rulings." Your attempt to restate the law dengan kedudukan hakim-hakim di bawah generally along Islamic legal principles Perlembagaan. Dan lagi sebagai kebudayaan ignores the character of Malaysian society orang-orang Melayu tindakan yang se. as one which is multi-religious and multi­ demikian tidak manis dan berpatutan." racial with deep cultural differences. No This statement is not true because there One of the charges: " . .. you accused the Government of undenning the independence of the judiciary." 4 was an occasion prior to writing this letter 28th May 1988, which is at Annexure "E". where you made a speech criticising and Yet one day later you wrote a letter to openly accusing not only the Government Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri which is at Anne­ but also the Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri xure "F" retracting your earlier decision Malaysia of undennining the independence to take early retirement and denied, inter · of the Judiciary. alia, that there was any lack of impartiality (ii) In the Jetter you said that the letter was in the UMNO cases before the court when written on behalf of the judges of this this matter was never brought up by Y.A.B. country. This is false as there was no prior Perdana Menteri and was not in issue. Your consultation with nor approval of all the conduct as such cannot but raise doubts judges of the country on the content of the as to your ability to make a fmn decision letter before you sent it to Their Royal and act upon it which is required of a Highnesses the Malay Rulers and His Majesty judge. Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong. (ii) Further, in an interview with the BBC Such conduct and action is incompatible on the 29th May 1988 as reported and with your position as Lord President. This published in the Singapore Straits Times of said Jetter has caused much displeasure to 31st May 1988 which is at Annexure "G", His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang you stated that you were being unjustly di-Pertuan Agong and His Majesty accord· removed from office. And you claimed ingly directed that appropriate action be as one of the reasons for your removal taken against you in accordance with the unjustified accusation of bias on your part Constitution. in the UMNO cases. A similar report was (iii) His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang published in the New Straits Times Malaysia di-Pertuan Agong interpreted what you of 31st May 1988 which is at Annexure wrote in the said letter as intending to "H". This claim was wholly untrue and was influence Their Royal Highnesses the Malay made with a view to politicise the whole Rulers and His Majesty Seri Paduka Bagi.nda issue. Yang di-Pertuan Agong to take some form (iii) You then subsequently issued several state­ of action against the Y .A.B. Perdana ments to the press for publication insisting Menteri. Your action was therefore likely upon trial by your peers and for the pro­ to give rise to misunderstanding between ceedings to be held in open court. the Rulers and the Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri It was reported in the New Straits Times and could have adversely affected the good of 3rd June 1988 which is at Annexure relations between the Malay Rulers and the "r' that you had - Government. Such action has rendered you (a) Called for a public hearing by the unfit to continue in the office of Lord tnl>unal inquiring into the charges President. made against you. (iv) In the same letter, 26 May 1988, you (b) In a brief statement to the Press urged admitted that the statements made by the the Tribunal to be set up as soon as Y.A.B. Perdana Menteri about judges had possible as a matter of fairness and left you mentally disturbed to such an justice. extent that you are no longer able to (c) Called for the Tribunal to be comprised properly discharge your functions as Lord of persons of high judicial standing. President. (d) On the 4th June 1988 The New Straits 5. Finally after your suspension as Lord President Times which is at Annexure "J" you made various statements to the media for published your one paragraph statement publication and broadcasting which contained which was issued to the press as an untruths and which were calculated to politicise addition to your earlier press statement.
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