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KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN judges were sent to an indoctrination 'boot camp' to pressure them into making decisions that favoured the government, a senior judge said according to reports on Wednesday.
In explosive allegations made in open court, Justice Ian Chin also said he was threatened by former premier Mahathir Mohamad over high-profile cases, one involving a close associate of the then-leader.
'Now, though he is no longer the prime minister and so no longer able to carry out his threat to remove judges, the coalition party that he led is still around,' he said.
Justice Chin made the allegations, which were picked up by the national press on Wednesday, before hearing a dispute over results of March general elections in Sarawak state on Borneo island.
He said he was targeted by Dr Mahathir after refusing to award 'astronomical' payouts in two libel cases in 1997, while a judge who agreed with the then-premier's views was promoted to the Federal Court.
Afterwards, Justice Chin reportedly said he was packed off to a five-day boot camp with selected judges and judicial officers.
It was without any doubt 'an attempt to indoctrinate those attending the boot camp to hold the view that the government interest as being more important than all else when we are considering our judgement', he said.
Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenavasan called for an inquiry into the allegations, which she said were 'both startling and damning.'
'Judges, both present and past, must be encouraged to come forward and provide information on any such instances of interference so that further action may be taken,' she said.
Dr Mahathir stood down in 2003 and his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been criticised for failing to carry out his promises to tackle corruption, which is deeply entrenched in politics and business.
Justice Chin's allegations add to the pall cast over the country's judiciary by a recent royal commission into a sensational Dr Mahathir-era video clip that showed a top lawyer brokering judicial appointments with the help of politicians.
The commission found in May that there was evidence of an 'insidious' conspiracy to influence the appointment of judges, and the government promised to investigate those implicated.
Dr Mahathir has challenged the authorities to charge him.
'I want them to charge me in court. Only then will I have the opportunity to expose more conflicts faced by the judges, including those who have implicated me,' he said. -- AFP
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