KUALA LUMPUR – The Madani government should consider establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to address the current confidence issues surrounding judicial appointments, said former law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Speaking to Scoop, Nazri said an RCI would address all inferences of interference in the appointment of judges, including from within the Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC).
He added that since the suggestion came from government backbenchers in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), it would be advisable for the government to give it due consideration.
“The prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) should establish the RCI, considering there’s macam-macam cerita (all kinds of talk)… it’s better to get to the bottom of it, instead of letting people speculate,” he said.
Nazri stressed that it was especially important for a reformist party like PKR to be transparent, particularly when the issue touches on the integrity of the judiciary.
“With PKR being a party with a reformist agenda – and if this unsettling situation is happening now because of the succession of the judiciary – I think the public has all the right to know what’s going on,” he said.
He said the proposal, made by nine PKR backbenchers, should not be viewed as a challenge to the leadership but rather as consistent with the coalition’s stated reform goals.
“It’s consistent with the reformist agenda. It’s coming from your own backbenchers. If it’s coming from the opposition, you’d straight away say it’s to attack the government. But this is different – why not consider it?”
Nazri also reflected on his time in government under Barisan Nasional, saying he had always encouraged independent thinking among MPs.
“When I was in government under BN, I always wanted our MPs to be thinking independently – not just to follow what we say, what the executive says.
I wanted MPs to have their own mind and give suggestions to the government. Rather than it coming from the opposition, it’s better if it comes from government backbenchers.”
He said the current administration should take the same approach and not dismiss the concerns raised – particularly surrounding the decision to extend the Chief Judge of Malaya as acting Chief Justice.
“So much so that you have to get a Chief Judge of Malaya to be extended to be the acting CJ. Please consider, and don’t just dismiss (the RCI suggestion).”
Nazri also addressed criticisms that the Cabinet had failed to deliberate the matter.
“Some say such an important issue like this, the Cabinet didn’t even discuss. Of course the Cabinet didn’t discuss – because that would be interference. But now you’re asking for an RCI.
An RCI can only happen if the Cabinet decides and now the Cabinet can decide – but not before.
Nazri added that such a move would have been unthinkable under former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Mahathir would not have agreed to it. But now, with PMX – Anwar as prime minister – we are more hopeful. There can be differences in opinions in the party, and it won’t necessarily (be an agenda to) bring down the government.”
Nazri’s comments follow a call by former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli on June 7, urging the government to immediately establish an RCI to investigate what he described as a judicial crisis.
Rafizi warned that continued inaction could erode public trust in both the courts and the administration.
Rafizi had cited claims that the JAC’s nominations for top judicial posts, including chief justice and president of the Court of Appeal, had not been acted upon promptly.
He also referenced allegations that a Federal Court judge was summoned over alleged interference in court decisions, with a police report lodged by a judicial officer.
He urged Parliament’s Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reform to summon the prime minister and called for pending appointments to proceed based on earlier JAC recommendations.
Rafizi also announced that PKR MPs would launch an online petition and a series of public forums starting July 13, stressing the need to defend the separation of powers and the rule of law. – July 9, 2025