Mahathir again blames Agong for removal of top judge
Published on: Thursday, January 04, 2018
Putra Jaya: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad again said the sacking of Salleh Abas as Lord President in the mid 1980s was not because of him but on the orders of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong.The former Prime Minister said the Attorney-General at the time, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman, had framed him to "save the good name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong"."Salleh was fired not because of me (but it was made to seem like so) in order to save the good name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The A-G at the time... used my name, supposedly saying I ordered (the firing).
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"I dare to hold the Quran and swear that I did not order Salleh's firing. The one who ordered it was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he said at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya.Dr Mahathir said the matter was triggered when Salleh sent a letter of complaint to the Agong, regarding the noise level from renovations being carried out at the Agong's private residence."The letter was sent by Salleh to the Agong, this letter of complaint, because Salleh's house was near the Agong's private residence."They were doing some repair works at the Agong's private residence, causing a lot of noise.
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"Because of that, Salleh wrote a letter to the Agong, saying there was too much noise," he said, adding that Salleh had also sent copies of the letter to other rulers.He said that was when the Agong decided to fire Salleh.
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Dr Mahathir said he had told the Agong that this could be done only by a tribunal."The Agong was very angry, and asked me to fire (Salleh). I said it could not be done, and the only way was via a tribunal. The Agong then said, 'do the tribunal'. "So, I was doing things that only the Agong can legitimise."Dr Mahathir said it was improper for a senior officer to directly address the Agong, and that the original letter was now lost."That (writing a letter directly to the Agong) is improper. A senior officer must go and meet the Agong to make a request."Salleh's letter had something written by the Agong on the side, and I took that to the cabinet."Eventually, I decided to set up (the tribunal). I had to discuss it with the cabinet."The cabinet said we could not do it (have Salleh fired) unless we set up a tribunal, and to set up the tribunal, I had to get the permission of the Agong."After that, the letter was given to officials, but today, the letter cannot be found." Last Saturday, the Pakatan Harapan chairman called for, among other things, the restoration of the judiciary.His call led rivals to accuse him of hypocrisy, after they reminded him of his role in the 1988 judicial crisis from which the legal community said the judiciary has never recovered.Dr Mahathir also claimed today that the judiciary and legislature were now swayed by the government, citing as example the classification of three reports related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) as official secrets."We suspect the judiciary may be influenced... It is also clear that the legislative body has been influenced by the executive body. You cannot hide evidence," he said.When asked if he had more substantial evidence to support his version of the 1988 judicial crisis, Dr Mahathir asked: "Would you believe me if I said I told the truth?"You won't, especially the opposition of that time wouldn't believe me. I was painted as a monster back then, yet now I have been accepted by those who painted me as a monster."Dr Mahathir later said PH will take up Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's legal bid for the Federal Court to nullify the constitutional amendments that removed the requirement for royal assent in the passage of laws.Coincidentally, it was Dr Mahathir's administration that removed the power of the Agong to decide if a law should be passed.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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