The Conference of Rulers should not treated as 'rubber stamps' in the appointment of top judges, Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan stressed today.

She said the Federal Constitution stipulates that the rulers were a party to the appointment process of key government posts because they must be consulted.

"However, the consultation has to be meaningful. The Conference of Rulers cannot be treated as just a rubber stamp. It would not be provided in the constitution if otherwise," said Ambiga when contacted by malaysiakini.

She added that the role played by the rulers was important as it was a form of check and balance.

Ambiga was asked to comment on Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim's claim that the rulers' opinion was not binding on the prime minister.

Ahmad Fairuz's statement comes in the wake of a news report which claimed that the Conference of Rulers had rejected Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's candidate for the Chief Justice of Malaya (CJM) post.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Ahmad Fairuz declared that Abdullah was the "ultimate decider" in such appointments as the king acts only on the advice of the prime minister.

The CJM post has been vacant since Siti Norma Yaakob retired in January this year. Ahmad Fairuz is the acting CJM.

Describing the lengthy vacancy as "undesirable", Ambiga said the situation could have been avoided and it justifies the formation of a Judicial Commission which the Bar Council - a professional body representing the nation's 12,000 lawyers - had been lobbying for.

"Retirement is something which one knows about in advance, thus there should be little excuse as to why a candidate could not be decided upon earlier," she said.

Dangerous precedence

MCA Youth legal bureau chief Gan Ping Sieu described the multi-faceted consultation process in such appointments as an integral part of the decision making process to ensure that the most competent person may assume the posts.

"His Majesty the King consulting the Conference of Rulers is part of the essential constitutional process. We trust that all the consultants are men of utmost integrity and bearing the nation's best interest in mind," said Gan, a practising lawyer and also Mengkibol state assemblyperson.

Meanwhile, PAS vice-president Husam Musa said Ahmad Fairuz's comments gave the impression that Abdullah would be going ahead with his candidate even without royal assent.

"This should not happen. It is as though (Ahmad Fairuz) views that the rulers opinion were not important in getting the Prime Minister to reconsider," said Husam when contacted.

He said the principle of consulting the rulers must be upheld and that their influence on the prime minister must not be diminished.

"If not, it would cause serious implications towards the balance of political power in the country in the future. This must be avoided," he added.