KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today gave assurance that his Unity Government will continue defending the country’s judiciary independence at all costs.
He also rubbished the allegations over disconcerting rumblings’ that the executive arm of the organs of the state is interfering with due process and strong-arming the judiciary.
“There is not one iota of truth in these scurrilous allegations, which are now being repeated ad nauseam in the social media.
“Let me reiterate what I have said before; As Prime Minister, not only have I not encroached upon even a single inch of the sacred terrain of the judiciary, but I shall defend, at all costs, the independence of the judiciary,” he said at the 14th Asean Law Association (ALA) General Assembly 2023.
He said there was a time in Malaysia’s history where certain black sheep of the judiciary, working hand in glove with certain powers that be; committed gross transgressions against its very institution and feeding the virulent spread of tyranny and arbitrariness on the other.
Anwar said the government and those who wield power must be held accountable for their decisions and actions.
“Government must be transparent and that is imperative from the principle of open government.
“Hence, shady dealings and dodgy decisions cannot be used to pool wool over the people’s eyes in the name of the Official Secrets Act.
“Then, there is the doctrine that laws must be fair and just and that all must have accessibility to the hallowed halls of justice,” he said.
Therefore, the Prime Minister calls on lawyers to be the champions of justice, the fierce advocates for the marginalised and the torchbearers of equality.
“We must strive to ensure that justice is not a commodity only available to those with financial means, but rather a universal right accessible to all, irrespective of their socio-economic status,” he added.
-- More to come - Bernama