By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong , Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Friday, October 20, 1995:
Call on Nazri to inform Parliament on Tuesday whether the Chief Justice’s directive to all judges and magistrates to deliver judgment within two weeks and grounds of judgment within six weeks had been put into effect
During the debate in Parliament last evening on the Courts of Judicature {Amendment } (No. 2) Bill, I referred to the directive by the Chief Justice, Tan Seri Eusoff Chin, in August to all judges and magistrates to deliver judgement, within two weeks of the end of nearing, and to deliver grounds of judgement within six weeks.
During his winding-up of the debate on Tuesday, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Tan Seri Abdul AZIZ, who is responsible for the bill, should inform Parliament whether the Chief Justice’s directive to all judges and magistrates on the deadline for judgements and grounds of. judgement had been put. into effect.
Furthermore , what redress is open to litigants if judges and magistrates do not comply with the chief Justice’s’ directive .
During the debate in Parliament yesterday, I had specifically referrecl to the Federal court decision on April 14, 1995, the eve of. Nomination for the April general election, rejecting the appeal of Wee Choo Keong against, the High court finding of contempt of court – and imposing a line of RM7,000 instead of the High Court jail sentence of two years.
It was on the basis of the Federal Court judgment on April 14, 1995 that, Wee Choo Keong was disqualified by election judge, Justice Ahmad Fairus, as Member of Parliament for Bukit Bintang, allowing the MCA candidate who was decisively rejected by the voters of Bukit Bintang to enter Parliament by the “back door ” .
I told Parliament that Wee Choo Keong ‘ s lawyers had written to the Federal court for grounds of the Federal court judgement, which was not delivered on April 14, but no response had been forthcoming despite four letters of reminders – and although six months had elapsed since the verdict or 10 months since the end of the hearing of the appeal in January this year.
Nazri should inform Parliament on Tuesday whether the Federal Court is ready to deliver its grounds of judgement and if not, the reason tor such inordinate delay which goes against the directive of the Chief Justice in August.
Nazri should also inform Parliament and the country on Tuesday the government stand on the Ayer Molek judicial controversy and crisis – whether a .High court judge can do a “double jump)” and sit as a federal court judge, which is clearly illegal and unconstitutional under the present constitutional provisions
If the Government wants a High Court judge to have the powers to do a “double jump” to sit as a Federal Court judge, Nazri should introduce an amendment on Tuesday to the Courts of Judicature Amendment Bill to specifically empower a High Court Judge to leap over the Court of Appeal and sit as a Federal Court judge- although Nazri should give good and cogent reasons why he is asking for such an extraordinary amendment!