KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 – The government’s proposal to establish a Syariah Judicial Appointments Commission aims to strengthen the Syariah Courts and ensure that the appointment of judges is conducted transparently and independently from the Executive.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said the establishment of this commission is in line with efforts to upgrade the status of Syariah judges through the Syariah Judges’ Remuneration Act.
“We have a Judicial Commission overseeing the appointment of High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court judges.
“However, for Syariah Court judges, there is currently no commission akin to the one that oversees civil judicial appointments. Instead, their appointments are handled similarly to those of civil servants, engineers, doctors and other officials under the Public Service Commission.
“Fundamentally, the proposal to establish a Syariah Judicial Commission is to ensure that these judges can make decisions without interference from the Executive,” he said.
