COMMENT | MP, former Bar presidents barking up the wrong tree

COMMENT | Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said has done no wrong. She gave an answer in the Dewan Rakyat on Feb 22, 2023, in response to questions from two MPs - Tenggara (BN) and Tasek Gelugor (Perikatan Nasional) - regarding the status of investigations on Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

Her reply to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s lawyers was merely to confirm what she had said in the Dewan Rakyat. As the minister of law, should she not have replied to a duly registered law firm and should have just ignored their letter?

Her answer in Parliament predates the Federal Court ruling on Feb 24, 2023, that the MACC and the attorney-general (AG) must follow protocols to seek permission from the Chief Justice before investigating or charging a sitting judge. So, how could Azalina be in contempt of a ruling that had not happened yet?

Therefore, Selayang MP William Leong’s accusation that Azalina had committed contempt has no merit. And why is it that a government MP is openly throwing false allegations against his own government’s minister? Does it add to the perception of stability of the current government?

Many of the rakyat had felt uncomfortable with...