Home TA Online Top judges’ resignations should have been immediate – not delayed

Top judges’ resignations should have been immediate – not delayed

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Their positions are untenable and indefensible and the only way out is to go out immediately, says P Ramakrishnan.

In what would seem as no way out, both Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal President Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin have at last chosen to resign. It was the only sensible thing to do.

They have hit a cul-de-sac and there was no room for manoeuvring their way out of this tight situation without the presence of the former Barisan Nasional regime to shield them. With the fall of their political masters, their fall was inevitable.

But their resignations should not have a caveat to take effect only on 31 July. Why 31 July? Their resignations should have been immediate – not delayed. Their positions have become untenable.

They had no right to hold on to their positions after their mandatory retirement dates –3 August 2017 for Md Raus and 27 September 2017 for Zulkefli – as their extensions were, at the very best, in dispute.

All the cases that they presided upon after their mandatory retirement are questionable and these cases must be reviewed. Illegal appointees have no right to sit in judgment of cases and make judgments that may not be binding for want of sanctity in their very appointment. And that is why they should not remain in office even a day longer.

They cannot hold on to their positions until 31 July. Their positions are untenable and indefensible and the only way out is to go out immediately.

It is said, “People leave when life becomes untenable where they are.”

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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P Ramakrishnan
P Ramakrishnan has been an Aliran member since its inception in 1977, serving on our executive committee for 36 years, half of that period as Aliran's president (1993-2011). He continues to serve as an Aliran member, highlighting issues of public interest to a larger audience
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