By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, March 8: The federal government should not delay announcing the members of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate allegations of judicial interference and misconduct made by Justice Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer recently.
In making the call, senior lawyer cum former Miri mayor Datuk Lawrence Lai Yew Son opined that members of the RCI should have been announced immediately after the allegations were made to gain public confidence in the country’s judicial system.
He lamented that after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the Cabinet’s nod for the RCI, “there was no more news. We are left hanging in the air” until today.
“The allegations are serious, and I support the PM’s decision (to set up an RCI),” said Lai when met at his office in Jalan Sri Dagang Miri Waterfront here yesterday.
But he cautioned that further delay in making an announcement on the composition of the RCI would prompt the public to start questioning the government.
“I want to say, as a lawyer, that there are a lot of honest judges. They are not corrupt. But with Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer’s allegation thrown into the open coupled with the delay in announcing the RCI members, the reputation of clean, honest judges will all be in doubt and tarnished,” asserted Lai. — DayakDaily
