Do the right thing, resign, lawyers group tells AG, top judges
(FMT) – Lawyers for Liberty today called on Mohamed Apandi Ali, Raus Sharif, and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin to step down immediately as attorney-general, chief justice, and Court of Appeal president.
The group’s executive director Eric Paulsen said they should save the nation from having to go through the messy process of instituting legal means to remove them.
He said: “It is obvious that their current positions are untenable, with the attorney-general as a political appointee serving at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the recommendation of the prime minister, while the re-appointments of Raus and Zulkefli were flagrantly unconstitutional.”
He said their continued “insistence on staying in their positions” could impede the reforms planned by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
“The scandalous circumstances surrounding Apandi’s appointment as attorney-general in the wake of his predecessor Abdul Gani Patail’s removal are shocking, as allegedly Gani was about to file 1MDB-related criminal charges against then-prime minister Najib Razak,” he added.
After being appointed attorney-general, Paulsen said, Apandi had chosen to clear Najib of all wrongdoing concerning 1MDB “despite all evidence proving otherwise”.
“Apandi clearly does not command the confidence of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has directed him to go on leave.”
Paulsen said the re-appointments of Raus and Zulkefli to their respective posts were “equally shrouded in controversy” as they had been “ushered in through the back door as ‘additional judges’ after they reached their mandatory retirement age”.
The Federal Constitution stipulates a retirement age of 66 years and six months for judges.
Paulsen said their continued insistence on remaining in their roles threatened to trigger a constitutional crisis and pit the new government against the judiciary.
He noted that the re-appointments of Raus and Zulkefli were the subject of constitutional challenges by the Malaysian Bar and the Advocates Association of Sarawak.
He added that PH leaders had, last August, submitted a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a bid to stop their re-appointments.
“It is clear that these Najib-era appointments are not fit to stay in office, and the longer they choose to remain, the worse the situation will become.
“If they must be forced out by legal means, it will be a messy and drawn-out affair, and one that will engulf their once-respected offices and drag them, and the country, through a crisis.
“We urge you to respect the wishes of the Malaysian voters who have clearly rejected the scandal-plagued Najib administration, of which you were a part.”
Paulsen called on the trio to “do the right thing” and resign so that Malaysia could move forward in a new era of democratic change and reform.
