BN backbencher Zaid Ibrahim (BN-Kota Baru) today strongly pleaded for a review of the 1988 judicial crisis, telling the government not to be afraid of correcting 'a wrong of the past.

"Tun Salleh Abbas is 77 years old now, the country and all of us have committed a sin towards him," Zaid said during his debate on the Budget 2007 this afternoon.

"He was not sacked because he wrote a letter to the king or because of his speech delivered in Universiti Malaya. It was because he wanted a nine-judge panel to hear the Umno case."

The MP, who runs one of the biggest legal firms in the country, was referring to the dismissal of the then Lord President in 1988.

"The families of these judges (who were removed unfairly) are still around. They are not asking for the judges to be reinstated or extra pension, all they are asking is the judges' names be cleared. Is that something so difficult?" asked Zaid.

In 1988, then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had Salleh tried by a special tribunal on charges of misconduct, for questioning constitutional amendments that seriously eroded the powers of the judiciary.

Two of five supreme court judges - George Seah and Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh - who had ruled that the tribunal was convened unconstitutionally were sacked along with Salleh, after being found guilty of misconduct by a tribunal of six judges, including one each from Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Some have described the dismissal of the top judges from the Supreme Court - then the country's highest court, now renamed as Federal Court - as Malaysia's darkest hours in its judicial history.

Three weeks ago, Salleh broke his silence and supported the Bar Council's call in reviewing the 1988 judicial crisis. Civil societies and opposition parties have also lent support to the call.

Nazri taken to task

Elaborating, Zaid said the government must not be afraid of reviewing the crisis if it aims to be a developed Islamic country.

"Why don't we have a truth commission? Why are we afraid of admitting our past mistakes?" he asked.

He also took de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, who dismissed the call for a review to task, saying it was "easy for him just to reject the suggestion for a review".

Stressing the need for a review on the saga, Zaid said it is essential as it will restore public faith in the country's judiciary system.

"We know the judges in our country can be easily removed under Article 123 and 125 of the Federal Constitution for misbehaviour. How can we give faith to the judges (to discharge their duty) if the law is so loose?" he asked.

Drawing a comparison, the lawyer-politician noted that in England, such as move against judges must be endorsed by the House of Common and House of Lords.

Whereas judges in Malaysia can easily be removed - even civil servants could only be sacked if found guilty of a criminal offence, Zaid pointed out.

The MP proposed a constitutional amendment to Article 125 pertaining to the action against judges and hoped that attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail would advise Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to amend the relevant article.

"We have to restore faith in the judiciary and empower our judges to act impartially. One day, all of us may need to be tried in a court of law when we are victimised or sacked," he added.