The government is paving the way for newly appointed Court of Appeal president Zaki Azmi to become the next chief justice, said Parliamentary Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today.

And this, according to the veteran politician, will happen in the next ten months.

Speaking at press conference in the parliament lobby, Lim said Zaki's appointment as Court of Appeal president yesterday shows that "it is clear that he is going to be the next CJ."

"His appointment as the CJ is going to be very fast. Abdul Hamid Mohamad (who was appointed as CJ yesterday) will finish his term in April next year and he will get a six-month extension. In another 10 months Zaki will assume the highest office," he said.

Describing Zaki's appointment as "not a surprise, but nonetheless shocking", Lim noted that the appointment was a triple jump.

"Only few months ago, from without (Zaki) having to be High Court judge, Court of Appeal Judge, straightaway (he was appointed) as a Federal Court judge, is seen as paving the way for his promotion as the new CJ."

Umno CJ?

He added that Zaki's appointment also confirmed concerns that he has been a very involved and intimate Umno lawyer.

"Now, he's a clear Umno appointee on the judicial hierarchy. Is he going to be the first Umno CJ in the 50 years history of Malaysia? An Umno CJ and not a Malaysian CJ," he said.

Lim demanded for Zaki to make public the positions he had to relinquish as a result of having been elevated into the judiciary.

"When he was appointed as Federal Court judge, he said he was given 24 hours to decide. How did he relinquish all his associations and corporate interests in 24 hours?" he asked, adding that Zaki should set an example of judicial transparency and accountability.

He also sought to know whether Zaki is still an Umno member. He urged Zaki to announce when he had surrendered his membership if he is no longer a member.

He urged Zaki to assure the Malaysian public that he would not be an Umno Court of Appeal president or an Umno CJ later on.

Political elements

Meanwhile, DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh, who was also present at the press conference, said Zaki’s appointment has caused apprehension among lawyers.

"Zaki was the legal adviser of Umno and the chairperson of the disciplinary committee before he was appointed Federal Court judge.

"To my mind, what could have been done was to go by seniority instead of Zaki's appointment of Court of Appeal president," he said, adding that he believed political elements were behind the appointment.

"There are others more senior that Zaki. In fact, he was the most junior Federal Court judge when he was appointed.

"What was the necessity of appointing him as Federal Court judge, then within months the Court of Appeal president and within a year the CJ?" asked Karpal, who is also a lawyer.

He also urged Zaki to prove that he is not influenced by Umno.

"There should be no suspicion in the appointment of a judge because he's expected to act impartially and any element of bias in favour of the government in the discharge of his duty.

"And I think he (Zaki) will have to go beyond that to show that he's in fact independent to make decisions even against the government," he said.

Asked if Zaki's appointment will be of any help to the judiciary, Karpal said:"There'll always be a shadow of doubt in regards to his independence. His close association with Umno certainly deflects from his requirement to be an independent enactor."

On the appointment of Abdul Hamid as CJ, Karpal said he welcomed the appointment.

"What he has inherited is a judiciary plagued by allegations of corruption and brokering of the appointment of the judges as clearly revealed by the Lingam tape.

"However, we believe he'll be in the position to clear the debts and restore public confidence in the judiciary," he said.

"He is free of any scandal, although it is regretted that he'll be only there for a year," he added.