CJ's work ethic wins over Bar Council

At the time he was appointed chief justice three years ago, Zaki Azmi’s connections with Umno were a source of concern to the legal fraternity.

Those reservations, however, have been put to rest, according to Bar Council chairperson Lim Chee Wee, who was asked to evaluate Zaki’s tenure at the top of the judiciary.

However, he said the Bar would remain cautious when an individual with strong political affiliations is appointed a judge, as they may not all turn out to be like Zaki.

Lim said Zaki’s tenure has surpassed the Bar’s expectations as he has implemented many positive changes:

• Appointing more members of the Bar as judges
• Creating specialist courts (Intellectual Property, Corruption Cases, Admiralty, and new Commercial and Civil Courts)
• Computerising court processes (case management, queue management, etc),
• Court annexed mediation
• Regular training for judges
• Clearing the backlog of cases
• Case management by teleconferencing
• Case management system with managing judges
• Instilling a culture of discipline and hard work among judges
• Regular meetings with members of the Bar
• Accessibility to the public in terms of complaints against judiciary and the court

Lim said the Bar is of the view that these changes, introduced with the support of Chief Judge of Malaya - and incoming chief justice - Arifin Zakaria, has effectively meant that Zaki has performed very well.
 
“While some may say Arifin has a hard act to follow in terms of extent of improvements to the judiciary, the Bar is confident (he) will take it to the next level in particular by improving the quality of judgments,” he said.

Lim also recalled moments where Zaki (left) showed that he does not care for protocol.
 
“When he led the delegation (on two separate occasions) from the Malaysian Bar and Bench for the Malaysia-Singapore Bar and Bench Games in Singapore, he insisted on jumping into an ordinary taxi with members of the Bar Council to visit the various sports venues, and he did not mind travelling long distances to various sports venues to cheer our members in these games. (He) is certainly a friend of the Bar.”

Zaki was appointed to the Federal Court by then premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in December  2007 and months later, was appointed the Court of Appeal president. He has been the chief justice since October 2008.

He is set to retire on Monday, when he reaches age of 66, and has indicated he will not seek the usual six-month extension that is provided for.

Yesterday the Prime Minister's Office announced Arifin’s elevation to chief justice, while Justice Md Raus Sharif will become Court of Appeal president and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin will replace Arifin as Chief Judge of Malaya.

Political appointment

Senior lawyer Karpal Singh, who is also DAP chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP, commended Zaki for reducing the backlog of cases but said public confidence in the judiciary has yet to be restored.

Karpal, who had once told Zaki to set the record straight following his ‘bribe the court staff’ remark, said Zaki had advised, represented and acted for Umno while in private practice as a lawyer.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily last month, however, Zaki was quoted as saying he has not heard or interfered in any case related to Umno since he took office.

“Although (Zaki) resigned from the Umno background before being appointed a federal court judge, he cannot deny the fact his appointment was a political one,” said Karpal when contacted.

“He is the only judge to have been appointed straight to the Federal Court from private practice, and within three years, to hold the post of chief justice amidst much controversy. The other judge appointed from private practice to the upper courts is Justice Gopal Sri Ram, who was appointed a Court of Appeal judge."

Karpal said he hoped no other judges would be politically appointees after Zaki.

He had also been critical of the government bulldozing through amendments to the Judges Remuneration Act 1971 for Zaki’s benefit.

While acknowledging that Zaki has reduced the backlog of cases, Karpal noted this could be just to fulfil key performance indicators (KPIs) for judges.

“I have to admit and be fair to say Zaki has managed to reduce the backlog of cases and he will be remembered for introducing reforms. However, judges and lawyers are under pressure because of hurried justice.

“Justice hurried is justice buried. There are worries especially over the handling of criminal cases. Malaysia has one of the largest (rates of) conviction in death penalty cases with murder, firearms, treason and drugs bringing capital punishment,” he said.

Lawyers, he said are worried by the fast-track system introduced under Zaki, as there could be instances of miscarriage of justice in their hurry to satisfy KPIs.

Judges, Karpal pointed out, are now under tremendous pressure to dispose of cases quickly. This is something that Ariffin will have to look into.

Arifin, 61, had risen within the Law and Judicial Service and served various roles as senior federal counsel and state legal advisor.

He became a High Court judge in 1992, ascended to the Court of Appeal in 2002 and became a Federal Court judge in 2005.