The new Attorney-General and Reform of the Judiciary
MALAYSIAN politics was turned upside down in the evening of May 9, 2018 when the seemingly invincible BN juggernaut was brought crashing down. I was with some friends in a local eatery following the results as they trickled through, food consumed without tasting as each of us stayed glued to our mobile phones for the next seat declared.
In every election that I can recall, the results were all announced well before midnight, except in this election, although in Sarawak, due credit must be given for the results came in promptly.
The Election Commission chief must be held answerable for this unprecedented and totally inexplicable delay in announcing the results, leaving an entire nation on tenterhook until the next day. Was it due to sheer incompetence of a historical magnitude or was it due to some nefarious motive to subvert the will of the voters as most people believe?
Most right-thinking people will expect that heads will not only roll but that a full investigation will be carried out and action duly taken against anyone who has breached any law. That will be the role of the new Federal Attorney- General.
The news that the Yang diPertuan Agong has acted upon the advice of the prime minister to sack Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali and appoint Tommy Thomas as the new AttorneyGeneral is a relief and will give people confidence that the new administration is serious about the systemic reforms it promised in its campaign manifesto.
Thomas is a brilliant lawyer and his record shows that he is fearless in championing the right causes despite the fact that, in doing so, he was going up against the all-powerful Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration at the material time.
Our justice system from the judiciary to the Attorney General’s office needs an overhaul and Thomas is the right man for the job. He knows he carries the weight of the expectations of not only his colleagues at the Bar but also the entire nation to undo decades of wrong and set Malaysian justice system on the right track.
One of the most important issues is the appointment of judges to the High Court and their promotion to the appellate courts. It is a known fact that judges who gave decisions that did not sit well with the former administration were put in cold storage despite their seniority and capability. Thomas knows well who they are and I believe he will see to it that the right thing is done immediately.
The elevation and promotion of judges must be solely on merit and need to be put into the hands of a totally independent commission. The current Judicial Appointments Commission needs a revamp in this regard. Only then can we see the restoration of the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
The Malaysian judicial crisis of 1988 happened under the watch of Tun Dr Mahathir. A crisis that the judiciary never recovered from. Former PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tried to set that right with his historical apology to the sacked Supreme Court judges but he himself was soon out of office and the attempt to restore judicial independence died with a whimper.
In the years of the Najib administration, many inexplicable judicial decisions concerning those who walked the corridors of power were given that were devoid of legal basis. That is what will happen when the judiciary is beholden to the executive.
Today, Dr Mahathir has the chance to right the wrongs and he has taken that first step with the appointment of Thomas as the new Attorney- General, knowing full well that Thomas is fiercely independent and would brook no nonsense from anyone, including the one who nominated him.
Thomas does not need the job, the money or the fame. He already has all that in spades. Thomas stepped away from a hugely lucrative legal practice to dedicate the next two years of his life to national service, knowing that he has a monumental task ahead with precious little time to accomplish it.
I, like the rest of the nation, watch with bated breath as to the course that he will set us on. Knowing the man, I am confident he will not disappoint us.