Ex-leader Mahathir Faces Accusation Of Making Threat Against Judges

Ex-leader Mahathir Faces Accusation Of Making Threat Against Judges

11 June, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian lawyers demanded an investigation Wednesday (11 June) into a judge's claim that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad once threatened to oust judges if he disagreed with their verdicts.

High Court Judge Ian Chin's accusation provides fodder for opposition leaders who want the courts to review key verdicts stretching back more than a decade because they insist that government interference has tainted many decisions.

Chin told an open court Monday that Mahathir _ who led Malaysia between 1981 and 2003 _ made a "thinly veiled threat" to judges who attended a conference in 1997 that they could be removed "if any judgment is to his dislike."

Mahathir's aide, Sufi Yusoff, said the former leader would respond to the accusation "in due time."

Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan urged the government Wednesday to conduct an immediate investigation, stressing that "elements of interference have to be put down once and for all."

"Clearly there are many things that plagued the judiciary," she told The Associated Press. "We have to ensure this interference in the judiciary never happens again. "

Mahathir has long been accused by opposition leaders of interfering in the courts. He dismissed or suspended several top judges for alleged misconduct in 1988 in what was widely considered a move to quash the independence of the judiciary.

Chin made his claim while presiding over an election dispute in eastern Sarawak state, saying he wanted to disclose details of his previous cases related to politics.

Chin also alleged that judges were sent to a seminar in 1997 in "an attempt to indoctrinate (them) to hold the view that the government interest (was) more important than all else when we are considering our judgment."

A panel set up by the government to investigate possible judicial corruption said last month that it believed that prominent government and judicial figures _ including Mahathir _ may have been involved in a conspiracy to manipulate the appointment of top judges.

The claims surfaced after the opposition released a video last September that showed a lawyer speaking on the phone to a former top judge in 2001 about fixing judges' promotions.

Mahathir last month challenged the government to charge him in court after the Cabinet told the Attorney General's office to investigate the video further. (By JULIA ZAPPEI/ AP)