Haris Ibrahim, lawyers seek MACC's probe on judge Nazlan declared unconstitutional

SHAH ALAM - Activist Haris Ibrahim and two others have filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seeking a declaration that the investigation into Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is unconstitutional.

In a statement today, Haris together with lawyers Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai said they had named MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, the anti-graft agency as well as the government as defendants in the legal action.

The suit, the trio said was filed to determine important constitutional issues concerning the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary that have arisen as a consequence of the investigation into a serving Court of Appeal judge.

Nazlan, then a High Court judge, had convicted and sentenced former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on seven counts relating to RM42 million of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd on July 28, 2020.

An appeal against the conviction is pending before the Federal Court.

In the statement issued by law firm Messrs Malik Imtiaz Sarwar on the trio's instructions, they said they were seeking for two main declarations.

Firstly, they want a declaration that criminal investigation bodies including the MACC, are not entitled or are otherwise precluded from investigating serving High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court judges, unless these judges are suspended pursuant to Article 125(5) of the Federal Constitution or removed in accordance with Article 125(3); and/or the public prosecutor is not empowered to institute or conduct any proceedings for an offence against the serving judges.

Secondly, they want a declaration that the MACC’s investigation into Nazlan is unconstitutional.

They had also filed an application at the High Court to refer two constitutional questions to the Federal Court in relation to the declarations sought.

The three were represented by lawyers Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Surendra Ananth.

Last week, the MACC maintained that it has the power to investigate any public officials, including judges.

This was following criticisms over the probe into Nazlan's alleged corruption that sparked debate among lawmakers and the legal fraternity.

Two weeks ago, Nazlan lodged a police report over an article published by news portal Malaysia Today which alleged that he was investigated for an unexplained RM1 million in his bank account dated April 20.