The possible impasse between the rulers and the government could have been avoided had Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim agreed to overhaul the judicial appointment process, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

"If Ahmad Fairuz had undertaken judicial reforms to introduce the principles of accountability, transparency, meritocracy and integrity for judicial appointments before involving the prime minister and the Conference of rulers... the present constitutional crisis and impasse... would have been avoided," he said.

Lim was commenting on the apparent impasse between the Conference of Rulers and the government due to the former reportedly disagreeing with the Prime Minister's choice for the new Chief Justice of Malaya (CJM).

The veteran legislator said in a statement today that many Commonwealth countries had already initiated such a process.

The CJM post has been vacant for seven months following Siti Norma Yaacob's retirement in January.

Lack of transparency

Since then, the Conference of Rulers reportedly rejected the prime minister's suggested replacement when the rulers convened for a second time on the matter in June.

The four appointed posts of Chief Justice, Court of Appeal president, Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak and the CJM are four parallel branches of the judiciary.

According to Article 122B of the Federal Constitution, the four posts "shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers".

Critics have claimed that the present system does not ensure transparent judicial appointments and that a independent Judicial Commission should be formed to address the matter.

Ahmad Fairuz had rejected calls for a Judicial Commission describing such a process as nudity, rather than transparency.

Make process meaningful

Yesterday, Ahmad Fairuz told reporters that the opinions of the Conference of Rulers were not binding on the prime minister and thus, the PM is the ultimate decider of the appointment.

Ahmad Fairuz was responding to the news report last week which highlighted the purported rejection of Prime Minister Abdulah Ahmad Badawi's candidate for the CJM post by the Malay Rulers, sparking speculations of a possible impasse between the rulers and the government.

On the process of consultation, Lim said the rulers have no legal nor constitutional basis to veto the Abdullah's choice, but they play an important role in check and balance.

"(The process of consultation) must be a full, proper and meaningful process and not just a matter of formality with no meaning or purpose whatsoever,

"When consulted, the Conference of Rulers is duty-bound to give full and weighty consideration to the subjects raised, including bringing up grave doubts or reservations or even asking for reconsideration of the original proposal if there are very good, valid and powerful grounds," added Lim.