Press Releases

The CSO Platform for Reform wishes to express our regret at the attempts to question the independence of our nation's judiciary. We fully support the statement made by the President of the Malaysian Bar Council on 4 April 2023 regarding the alleged leaked documents from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and attacks on the courts and its judges.

We are aware of the continuous intimidation aimed at the courts by irresponsible parties related to the SRC case, and we believe that these attacks are a threat to the principle of justice in our country. As a civil society nation, we should understand that 14 judges have deliberated on the matter and 13 of them have given rational decisions that uphold the conviction. Therefore, actions to question the administration of justice in our country through continuous attacks in the media or other means are unacceptable, and should be stopped immediately.

We also believe that the issue of conflict of interest alleged by Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak's lawyer has been discussed and debated by lawyers in front of two separate panels of the Federal Court. In both cases, the Federal Court has considered the matter and decided that the allegation was unfounded. Therefore, the conflict of interest claim against Judge Nazlan has been conclusively determined and cannot be challenged.

We also believe that the alleged "leak" of the MACC letter dated 20 February 2023, which was sent to the Chief Justice and widely disseminated to the media, was a serious lapse by the MACC in carrying out its powers and functions under their act. In addition, the letter from the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Dato’ Sri Azalina Bin Othman, to Dato’ Sri Najib's lawyers was also "leaked" to the media, indirectly raising doubts about whether there was any interference by certain parties.

The CSO Platform for Reform calls on all parties to cease their attacks on the judiciary to ensure the integrity of our nation's judiciary is preserved. We also remind that the judiciary must remain independent without any political or other interference solely to serve the interests of certain parties.

Released by Steering Committee of CSO Platform for Reform

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