PETALING JAYA: The government should address talk that Attorney General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh is being tipped for a Federal Court judge position, says Ramkarpal Singh.
“The matter has been reported twice by an online portal further suggesting the AG could be slated to be the Chief Judge of Malaya; this should be addressed by the government,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP in a statement on Sunday (July 14).
He added that the issue is not Terrirudin’s performance or competence as the AG, but why there is a need to depart from the practice of appointing a serving Federal Court judge as Chief Judge especially when there are candidates who certainly qualify for the post.
Ramkarpal then said that although there has been such precedent before, the question remains whether the present government should follow this practice in regard to its commitment to reforms.
“Such precedent ought to be abandoned as they give rise to government interference in the judiciary since such appointments are made on the advice of the Prime Minister under Article 122B of the Federal Constitution,” he said.
“It cannot be overemphasised that there are qualified candidates from the current serving Federal Court judges to fill the post of Chief Judge, and it is understood that recommendations have been made by the Judicial Appointments Committee.”
Ramkarpal then said that appointing an outsider to one of the country’s most senior judicial posts would be a step backward and reflect poorly on the government’s commitment to judicial reforms.
“It further comes across as unappreciative of the work that the current members of the judiciary have been doing to restore public and international confidence in the judicial arm of Malaysia,” he added.
