Salleh sacked for doing his duty, says panel

Friday August 29, 2008 MYT 7:26:47 PM
Salleh sacked for doing his duty, says panel
By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Sacked Lord President Tun Salleh Abas was not only innocent of the charges levelled against him but was acting to uphold his constitutional duty to protect the doctrine of separation of powers, a Panel of Eminent Persons reviewing the 1988 judicial crisis found.

It also concluded that the removal of Salleh and Supreme Court judges Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and Datuk George Seah subsequently was “non est”, that is, that they should not have been sacked.

The five-man panel comprised retired Chief Justice of India JS Verma, who chaired the panel; former Pakistan Supreme Court Justice Fakhruddin G Ebrahim; advocate of the Pakistan Supreme Court and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Dr Asma Jahangir; senior Malaysian lawyer Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman; senior Australian lawyer and former Lawasia president Dr Gordon Hughes; and senior Malaysian lawyer Datuk Bill Davidson.

Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, launching the Report of the Panel of Eminent Persons to Review the 1988 Judicial Crisis in Malaysia at the council auditorium, said: “It may have taken 20 years, but it is never too late for right to be done and for the truth to be told.”

The panel first convened here last September.

In its 81-page report (see malaysianbar.org.my), the panel said that having examined the proceedings of the first Tribunal, which found Salleh guilty of misbehaviour, it was of the view that “not only was Tun Salleh totally innocent and none of the charges had any merit but, in fact, the Lord President was performing his constitutional duty to uphold and protect the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law in the larger interest of the country”.

It concluded this after reviewing the tribunals’ reports and the definition and meaning of ‘judicial misbehaviour’ and the process adopted by the tribunals.

“The shortcomings of the process surrounding the composition, deliberations and findings of the First Tribunal were subsequently compounded by a Second Tribunal established to hear charges of misconduct against the five Supreme Court five judges who comprised the quorum which granted a limited stay on July 2, 1988, restraining the First Tribunal from submitting its report until further order,” it added.

“Accordingly, the removal of Salleh, Wan Suleiman and Seah from their offices was unconstitutional and non est.”

While acknowledging the Government’s recent moves for judicial reform, the panel stressed the desirability to redeem the people’s faith in the credibility of the judiciary and the rule of law, and made recommendations for that.