TTF: Reader’s are referred to Shamsher Singh Thind’s comments on Raus’ re-appointment here
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today filed a lawsuit to compel the prime minister to advise for the revocation of Tan Sri Mohd Raus bin Sharif’s reappointment as the Chief Justice.
In court documents sighted by Malay Mail Online, Dr Mahathir sought two orders, including a mandamus order to compel the prime minister and federal government to immediately render advice under the Federal Constitution’s Articles 40(1) and 40(1A) for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to revoke or terminate Md Raus’s appointment as Chief Justice for another three years from this August 4.
Dr Mahathir, a former prime minister, also asked for a court order to stay Md Raus from carrying out any of his functions as the Chief Justice until further court orders are made.
The three respondents named in Dr Mahathir’s application for leave for judicial review are Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the federal government and Raus.
The lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court was filed this afternoon.
“All necessary documents have also been served to the AG’s office for them to be fully aware of this action, despite the fact that it is an Ex-Parte Application,” Dr Mahathir’s lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said in a statement.
The Prime Minister’s Office’s July 7 announcement on the extension of Raus and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin’s terms as two of the country’s most powerful judges past the constitutional age limit was met with protests from the legal community.
The Malaysian Bar voted at an extraordinary general meeting last Thursday to mount a legal challenge in court against the duo’s extended tenures beyond their retirement age of 66 years and six months, which the professional body of lawyers deemed as unconstitutional.
Md Raus took his oath last Friday night as the Chief Justice for the next three years.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
