Judges should keep tabs on colleagues: Kit Siang
K KabilanPublished: Jan 15, 2001 8:20 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Judges must play a key role in bringing to book those in the judiciary who are guilty of unprofessional conduct, an opposition leader said today.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said to help achieve this, the present Judges' Code of Ethics must be reformulated to include more responsibilities for the judges to enable them to further safeguard the integrity of the judiciary.
He said that the code should include provisions for the judges not only to maintain high standards of personal conduct but also to encourage and support their judicial colleagues to do the same.
"Questionable conduct by one judge reflects badly on the judiciary as a whole," said Lim in a press statement.
He said that the rationale for such new provisions in the code was that "judges have opportunities to be aware of the conduct of their judicial colleagues".
"If a judge is aware of evidence which, in the judge's view, is reliable and indicates a strong likelihood of unprofessional conduct by another judge, he has a responsibility to ensure that appropriate action is taken to protect public interest," said Lim.
Past glory
Lim also said that Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaidddin Abdullah should initiate widespread consultation within and outside the judiciary on ways of restoring public confidence in the judiciary.
He added that the task of bringing back the past glory of the judiciary was not the sole responsibility of Dzaiddin or the judiciary, but that of the whole nation.
Lim also expressed his disappointment that Dzaiddin's inaugural judges' conference held last Saturday did not conclude with a "loud and clear message" by the judges backing Dzaiddin to restore the judiciary's prestigious standing.
He said the judges should have signalled their "collective resolve and commitment" to back Dzaiddin in the agenda to restore public confidence in the judiciary and bring back the judiciary to its former standing.
"It should be the individual and collective responsibility of all judges to restore public confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary," said Lim.
Cocooned officialdom
Lim also said that Dzaiddin's admission at the conference that the confidence in the judiciary had eroded was the first time the highest judicial officer had spoken openly about the "sick state of affairs" of the judiciary.
"This is something well known to the people and the world, except to the cocooned officialdom," he said.
Lim added that Dzaiddin's admission marked the end of the denial syndrome on the need for far-reaching judicial reforms.
At the conference, Dzaiddin also said that the erosion of confidence in the judiciary had deterred foreign investments in the country and reminded judges to act more professionally so as to restore the public confidence and to give justice to the people.
The conference was Dzaiddin's first official meeting with all the judges since he took over from Eusoff Chin on Dec 20.
Unholy holiday
The Malaysian judiciary, under Eusoff's leadership, became a subject of adverse criticisms by the international legal and judicial community over the handling of many high profile cases, including the criminal case involving former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
In April, four international legal organisations, including the International Bar Association, said in a joint report there were "well-founded" concerns about Malaysia's judicial independence.
Eusoff also faced investigations over a holiday in New Zealand in 1994 with a local lawyer, but no action was taken against him as the Attorney General's chambers said it had found "no evidence" of any misconduct on Eusoff's part.
Eusoff denied any wrongdoing with regards to the incident, claiming that he met the lawyer, VK Lingam,in New Zealand in 1994 by chance and that he had paid for his own holiday.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said to help achieve this, the present Judges' Code of Ethics must be reformulated to include more responsibilities for the judges to enable them to further safeguard the integrity of the judiciary.
He said that the code should include provisions for the judges not only to maintain high standards of personal conduct but also to encourage and support their judicial colleagues to do the same.
"Questionable conduct by one judge reflects badly on the judiciary as a whole," said Lim in a press statement.
He said that the rationale for such new provisions in the code was that "judges have opportunities to be aware of the conduct of their judicial colleagues".
"If a judge is aware of evidence which, in the judge's view, is reliable and indicates a strong likelihood of unprofessional conduct by another judge, he has a responsibility to ensure that appropriate action is taken to protect public interest," said Lim.
Past glory
Lim also said that Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaidddin Abdullah should initiate widespread consultation within and outside the judiciary on ways of restoring public confidence in the judiciary.
He added that the task of bringing back the past glory of the judiciary was not the sole responsibility of Dzaiddin or the judiciary, but that of the whole nation.
Lim also expressed his disappointment that Dzaiddin's inaugural judges' conference held last Saturday did not conclude with a "loud and clear message" by the judges backing Dzaiddin to restore the judiciary's prestigious standing.
He said the judges should have signalled their "collective resolve and commitment" to back Dzaiddin in the agenda to restore public confidence in the judiciary and bring back the judiciary to its former standing.
"It should be the individual and collective responsibility of all judges to restore public confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary," said Lim.
Cocooned officialdom
Lim also said that Dzaiddin's admission at the conference that the confidence in the judiciary had eroded was the first time the highest judicial officer had spoken openly about the "sick state of affairs" of the judiciary.
"This is something well known to the people and the world, except to the cocooned officialdom," he said.
Lim added that Dzaiddin's admission marked the end of the denial syndrome on the need for far-reaching judicial reforms.
At the conference, Dzaiddin also said that the erosion of confidence in the judiciary had deterred foreign investments in the country and reminded judges to act more professionally so as to restore the public confidence and to give justice to the people.
The conference was Dzaiddin's first official meeting with all the judges since he took over from Eusoff Chin on Dec 20.
Unholy holiday
The Malaysian judiciary, under Eusoff's leadership, became a subject of adverse criticisms by the international legal and judicial community over the handling of many high profile cases, including the criminal case involving former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
In April, four international legal organisations, including the International Bar Association, said in a joint report there were "well-founded" concerns about Malaysia's judicial independence.
Eusoff also faced investigations over a holiday in New Zealand in 1994 with a local lawyer, but no action was taken against him as the Attorney General's chambers said it had found "no evidence" of any misconduct on Eusoff's part.
Eusoff denied any wrongdoing with regards to the incident, claiming that he met the lawyer, VK Lingam,in New Zealand in 1994 by chance and that he had paid for his own holiday.
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