The Malaysian Bar notes with deep concern the report by The Edge Malaysia concerning former High Court judge Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah and the pension that he has reportedly not received since his forced resignation from judicial office in July 1996.
Syed Ahmad Idid’s experience followed his disclosure of serious concerns about the judiciary – we understand that there was a confidential 33-page memorandum detailing 112 specific allegations of, among others, corruption, abuse of power, personal misconduct and other indiscretions within the judiciary.
We further understand that he had sent this memorandum to the then-Chief Justice Eusoff Chin and three others. [The three others are the former inspector general of police, former attorney general and the late Abdullah Badawi.]
He exposed Eusoff Chin and lawyer VK Lingam holidaying together in New Zealand – an act which violated the Judges’ Code of Ethics 1994 (the Judges’ Code was launched by Eusoff Chin himself just four days before he departed for New Zealand).
[“A judge shall not: – (b) conduct himself in any manner as is likely to bring his private interests into conflict with his judicial duties” and (c) “conduct himself in any manner likely to cause a reasonable suspicion that he has allowed his private interests to come into conflict with his judicial duties so as to impair his usefulness as a judge; or (d) conduct himself dishonestly or in such manner as to bring the Judiciary into disrepute or to bring discredit thereto;”]
The matter was then handled unsatisfactorily by the late attorney general, Mohtar Abdullah (later Federal Court judge), who notoriously denounced it by referring to it as an “Ides of March” move. [A reference to the assassination of Julius Caesar, used metaphorically to signify betrayal.]
Inquiry into VK Lingam video clip
The 2008 Royal Commission of Inquiry into the VK Lingam video clip recorded a strong prima facie case that the relationship between Eusoff Chin and VK Lingam was extremely close and recommended fresh investigations under the applicable laws.
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[Paragraph 83: The royal commission found that both Eusoff Chin and VK Lingam travelled to New Zealand on the same flights, shared a van, visited the zoo, the bird park and even took a fishing trip together.]
Yet, there has been no satisfactory public account of consequential action.
From parliamentary debate to present action
During the parliamentary debates on the Judges’ Remuneration (Amendment) Bill 2013, when challenged to substantiate allegations of judicial misconduct, the current prime minister (who was in opposition at the time) personally defended Syed Ahmad Idid’s conduct, asserting that it was a judge’s formal disclosure to the government, which detailed specific allegations against members of the judiciary and pointed to the unresolved scandal of the former chief justice’s holiday with VK Lingam, in regard to which no action had followed [Hansard, D.R 8.4.2014, page 54, 8 April 2014].
In the same debate session, Anwar Ibrahim was quoted citing Caroline Kennedy, the then-US ambassador to Japan, in the following terms [Hansard, page 53]: “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.”
Miscarriage of justice
In 2008, the government made ex gratia payments to former Lord President, Salleh Abas, and five former Supreme Court judges affected by the 1988 judicial crisis.
Syed Ahmad Idid was not included and no subsequent exercise has made good the injustice inflicted upon him.
This is a miscarriage of justice. The Malaysian Bar, therefore, calls upon the government to restore his full pension, including all arrears due.
A crippled law
The Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 did not exist in 1996 and does not operate retrospectively.
Even today, its protection remains tied principally to disclosures made to enforcement agencies and falls far short of the comprehensive protection required for whistleblowers.
This act must be reformed to enhance whistleblower protection. Echoing Transparency International Malaysia, Malaysia must honour its obligations under Article 33 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption by protecting whistleblowers who report corruption in good faith from unjust treatment.
UNCAC Resolution 10/8 calls on governments to provide effective protection against retaliation, apply a reasonable belief standard and ensure that confidentiality rules are not misused to conceal corruption or penalise reporting persons.
Looking ahead
This dark episode is also another compelling reason to separate the offices of the attorney general and the public prosecutor.
The public prosecutor’s office must be structurally independent, impartial and beyond suspicion, particularly when decisions to investigate or prosecute concern those who hold public office and wield the power that comes with such office.
The former Lord President, Suffian Hashim, famously and presciently said that the 1988 judicial crisis would take a generation to overcome. It set in motion the events that culminated in the royal commission of inquiry. Regrettably, these twin calamities have proved Suffian right.
The government now has a historic opportunity to repudiate the past to enable the nation to progress. The Malaysian Bar urges the government to do the right and honourable thing.
Reforms are meaningless unless we right the wrongs of yesteryears. As wisely said by George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Restoring Syed Ahmad Idid’s pension cannot return the years taken from him. It can, however, affirm a principle indispensable to an independent judiciary and the rule of law – that integrity must not be punished and that the judiciary must be, and remain, steadfast in upholding the rule of law and incorruptible. – Bar
Anand Raj is the president of the Malaysian Bar.
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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