NEW FACTS EMERGE TO SEEK REVIEW OF 1988 JUDICIAL CRISIS

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Tan Sri Abdul Aziz had informed Parliament last week by written submission that unless there is new and important facts emerging, the issue of re-examining the 1988 Judicial Crisis will not be possible and as it stands now, there is no necessity for a review since there must be a finality to the matter .

In response to this call, former Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas had revealed today five new and important facts that will enable the minister in charge, Datuk Seri Nazri to seek the government's approval to review the 1988 Judicial Crisis which led to the sacking of Tun Salleh Abas and another two Supreme Court judges, Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh and George Seah.

The new five facts revealed by Tun Salleh Abas are:-

1. Ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad told him to quit or face a tribunal.

2. A messenger for a “very important minister” came to persuade Salleh Abas to resign or go on long leave. Otherwise, he would face dismissal. Salleh Abas was offered a lucrative job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as a director of Islamic Bank should he resign. To sweeten the deal, he was offered "a high salary I could never have dreamed of".

3. A month after Salleh Abas’s suspension, the Malay rulers reached an agreement that should Salleh Abas tender his apologies to and ask for forgiveness from the King for having written a controversial letter to His Majesty, his suspension would be lifted and the matter ‘would end there’. It however did not happen when Salleh Abas went to see the King in Johor Baru.

4. The suspension of five Supreme Court judges - with the eventual dismissal of two of them - was “engineered” for the purpose of thwarting them from hearing Salleh Abas’s judicial review application challenging his suspension and the composition of the tribunal to deal with his dismissal. He gives details on how the suspension was engineered.

5. The Sultan of Johor (who was then King during Salleh Abas’s dismissal) told Salleh Abas he (the sultan) had been “made use of”. The sultan was about to tender a public apology for his role in Salleh Abas’s dismissal but “mightier hands from Kuala Lumpur” managed to persuade the sultan from keeping to his pledge.

Tun Salleh Abas further quoted that “These incidents undeniably go to show that come what may, I must be made to give up my judicial office”. Tun Salleh Abas further said that there were other incidents and other details which he could reveal in the event a review was held, and for the time-being he shall keep the identity of those unnamed persons in this statement concealed. Tun Salleh is hoping that Nazri will present a proposal to the cabinet for a review of the 1988 judicial crisis so that the truth of this important episode in our nation's history is uncovered.

Will Datuk Seri Nazri do this?