Judicial crisis: Five 'new and important' facts
Malaysiakini
Sep 27, 2006
Beh Lih Yi

Former Lord President Salleh Abas today revealed five ‘new and important’ facts to strengthen his case is seeking the government to review the 1988 judicial crisis which led to his sacking.

This was in response to a remark by the de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz that he would press for a review only if new and important facts emerge.

Last week, Nazri, in a written reply in Parliament, said that the government was prepared to re-examine the 1988 sacking of Salleh and two others Supreme Court judges only if “new and important” facts emerge.

Responding to Nazri in a four-page press statement today, Salleh, 77, said he hoped the new facts which he revealed today could persuade the minister to change his mind and uncover the truth in the nation's darkest hour in its judicial history.

The new facts which the former judge revealed today are:

   1. Ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad told him to quit or face a tribunal. 

   2. A messenger for a “very important minister” came to persuade Salleh to resign or go on long leave. Otherwise, he would face dismissal. Salleh was offered a lucrative job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as a director of Islamic Bank should he resign. To sweeten the deal, he was offered "a high salary I could never have dreamed of".

   3. A month after Salleh’s suspension, the Malay rulers reached an agreement that should Salleh tender his apologies to and ask for forgiveness from the King for having written a controversial letter to His Majesty, his suspension would be lifted and the matter ‘would end there’. It however did not happen when Salleh went to see the King in Johor Baru.

   4. The suspension of five Supreme Court judges - with the eventual dismissal of two of them - was “engineered” for the purpose of thwarting them from hearing Salleh’s judicial review application challenging his suspension and the composition of the tribunal to deal with his dismissal. He gives details on how the suspension was engineered.

   5. The Sultan of Johor (who was then King during Salleh’s dismissal) told Salleh he (the sultan) had been “made use of”. The sultan was about to tender a public apology for his role in Salleh’s dismissal but “mightier hands from Kuala Lumpur” managed to persuade the sultan from keeping to his pledge.

More to come

“These incidents undeniably go to show that come what may, I must be made to give up my judicial office,” added Salleh.

He also said that there were other incidents and other details which he could reveal in the event a review was held.

“(But) for the time being, I shall keep the identity of those unnamed persons in this statement concealed.”

Salleh also said that the review was also important to clear the names of the other two Supreme Court judges - Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and George Seah - who were sacked in a subsequent tribunal.

“Wan Suleiman is no longer with us. His widow has, nevertheless, supported the call for a review ... George Seah is currently unwell to make any contribution to Nazri's call for ‘new facts’ but the series of articles on the crisis written by him not so long ago continue to appear in the websites of both the Malaysian Bar and Aliran (and malaysiakini),” he added.

“I hope that Nazri will present the proposal to the cabinet for a review of the 1988 judicial crisis so that the truth of this important episode in our nation's history is uncovered.”

Nazri has insisted there is no necessity for the review of the 1988 judicial crisis as there should be a finality into the episode.

Earlier today, the minister told malaysiakini that he was not convinced by Salleh’s recount of what transpired during the meeting with Mahathir as a strong enough reason to re-examine the 1988 judicial crisis. 

The darkest hour

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad set up a special tribunal in 1988 to try Salleh on charges of misconduct and for questioning constitutional amendments that seriously eroded the powers of the judiciary. Salleh was subsequently sacked.

Supreme Court judges George Seah and Wan Sulaiman - who had ruled that the tribunal was convened unconstitutionally - were also sacked after being found guilty of misconduct by another tribunal.

Some have described the dismissal of the top judges from the Supreme Court - then the highest court, now renamed the Federal Court - as Malaysia’s darkest hours in its judicial history.

A month ago, Salleh broke his 18-year silence and supported the Bar Council’s call to review the 1988 judicial crisis.

Last week, government backbencher Zaid Ibrahim also called for a review of the issue, adding that “he (Salleh) was not sacked because he wrote a letter to the King or because of his speech delivered in Universiti Malaya. It was because he wanted a nine-judge panel to hear the Umno case.”