BICARA MAKAN TENGAH HARI Y.A.A. KETUA HAKIM NEGARA BERSAMA EDITOR DAN PENGAMAL MEDIA
Selasa, 10 Oktober 2017
Hilton Kuala Lumpur
LIPUTAN MEDIA CETAK – AKHBAR
LIPUTAN MEDIA ONLINE / PORTAL
Latihan hakim dipertingkat, minimum khilaf
Oleh Mohd Anwar Patho Rohman
wananwar@bh.com.my – Selasa, 10 Oktober 2017 | 2:50pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Pengurusan dan latihan hakim akan diperkasa bagi meningkatkan kualiti perbicaraan pada semua peringkat dan mengurangkan kekhilafan.
Ketua Hakim Negara, Tun Raus Sharif, berkata penambahbaikan berterusan itu akan meningkatkan keyakinan orang ramai kepada institusi kehakiman. Beliau berkata, langkah itu juga sejajar dengan perubahan teknologi masa kini.
Katanya, latihan berkualiti tinggi itu bermatlamat melahirkan hakim yang pakar dalam bidang tertentu bagi memenuhi kehendak semasa. “Kita melatih hakim untuk mengurangkan kekhilafan. Apabila kekhilafan dapat diminimumkan, keyakinan masyarakat akan meningkat.
“Latihan diadakan di Akademi Kehakiman pada hujung minggu mengikut topik tertentu. Ia bertujuan mengelak berlaku kes ditangguhkan berikutan hakim menjalani kursus latihan.
“Perbincangan yang lebih mendalam mengikut topik yang ditentukan dan kes sebenar akan digunakan sebagai contoh untuk penghujahan,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian pada majlis bicara makan tengah hari bertajuk ‘Perubahan Kehakiman Dari Sudut Kehakiman Malaysia’ anjuran bersama Institut Kewartawanan Malaysia (MPI) dan Pejabat Ketua Pendaftar Mahkamah Persekutuan, di sini hari ini.
Yang turut hadir, Hakim Besar Malaya, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop; Ketua Pendaftar Mahkamah Persekutuan, Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif MPI, Datuk Dr Chamil Wariya.
Hadir sama, Pengarang Bersekutu Berita BH, Azhar Abu Samah dan M Thillinadan; Pengarang Kumpulan New Straits Times (NST), Yushaimi Maulud Yahaya; Penulis Khas Kanan, Berita dan Ehwal Semasa Harian Metro, Tuan Asri Tuan Hussein dan Pengarang Eksekutif Berita TV9, Wan Sabariah Shikh Ali.
Sementara itu, Raus menegaskan keputusan dibuat hakim dalam sesuatu kes terutama berprofil tinggi atau membabitkan tokoh politik bebas dan tidak dipengaruhi mana-mana pihak termasuk kerajaan atau badan politik.
“Dakwaan yang mengatakan hakim dipengaruhi pihak luar dalam penghakimannya tidak benar dan hanya persepsi masyarakat yang perlu ditangani. Persepsi tidak semestinya betul,” katanya. Beliau berkata, reformasi dalam sistem kehakiman yang dimulakan sejak 2008 menyumbang ke arah mengurangkan jumlah kes tertunggak di mahkamah rendah dan tinggi seluruh negara.
INFO
Jumlah kes tertunggak pada 2016
* Mahkamah Majistret – 182 kes
* Mahkamah Sesyen – 854 ke
* Mahkamah Tinggi – 1,868 kes
* Mahkamah Rayuan – 55 kes
* Mahkamah Persekutuan – 59 kes
Reforms to the judiciary 8 years ago has achieved tremendous success, says Chief Justice
By Beatrice Nita Jay – October 10, 2017 @ 5:42pm
KUALA LUMPUR: The judiciary has reduced the number of backlog cases since certain reforms were introduced eight years ago.
Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif said the Judicial Reforms were initiated by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi when he was first appointed as the Chief Justice in 2008.
He said the reforms had a great impact in transforming the Malaysian Judiciary to what it is today.
“At his elevation ceremony as the Chief Justice, Tun Zaki declared an all-out war against delays in settlement of cases and resolved to speed up the justice delivery system,” said Raus during the Malaysian Press Insititute’s Luncheon Talk with him here today.
Raus also said Zaki’s stand to reform the Malaysian judiciary was also to correct the negative perception which had been plaguing the system over the years.
“The initial reform program was aimed at finding the best solution to dispose the old cases and at the same time to expedite the hearing of new cases.
“Within three months, there were signs of success and realising this, Zaki decided to reform the program throughout the Peninsular,” said Raus.
Among the reforms introduced were the Key Performance Indicators for judges (number of cases a judge must hear in a day).
To address backlog of cases, fast tracking of cases was introduced which was divided into Track A (Affidavit-based and Interlocutory matters), Track T (Trial Cases), pursuing a strict no postponement policy (Only postpone when there is a death or near death situation), computerisation of court rooms and establishing specialist courts, in particular the New Commercial Court (NCC).
“When the NCC was fully established, we had judges clearing concurrently the old and new cases.
“For new cases in the NCC, we set a time line of disposal within nine months of registration. To be able to do that, the cases were subjected to vigouros case management. Performance of the judges was regularly monitored.
“The results were astonishing. Most cases, about 95 to 98 per cent of the NCC cases were disposed within nine months. Cases which exceeded the nine months were disposed in a year.”
As of Sept 31, Raus said there were only 818 cases pending in the Commercial Court of which 711 were cases from 2017, 72 were from 2016 and only 35 cases were pre-2016 cases.
“I was informed by the Managing Judge of the Commercial Division that 96 per cent of the cases are being disposed within the time line of nine months. “This is a milestone in the history of our judiciary and an achievement to be proud of.
“Not even Singapore cases can match our performance in disposing commercial cases. Their timeline is 18 months,” he said.
Raus said three years from the time the Malaysian judiciary started its reforms, it succeeding in clearing a substantial number of old cases and due to this, the courts’ efforts were well documented which earned the system accolades in the World Bank reports in 2011.
The Malaysian judicial system was also recommended by the World Bank for adoption by judiciaries facing similar problems and among countries which visited and adopted the practice were Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brunei, Nepal, Swedan and Taiwan.
He said that the implementation of e-court project in 2009 also helped in clearing the backlogs within a short period of time.
“No doubt we have made a good progress thus far, but reform is a continuous process. Our immediate concern is to dispose old cases which are more than a year or longer, while on long term, I intend to concentrate on the capacity building through continuous Training of Judges,” he said.
Raus acknowledged that judicial transformation was a continuous journey and needed to take into account the changing needs of business community and the society.
“The public must have confidence on the ruling and the decision that we make. This can only be achieved when the decision or ruling made by the judges are free from interference or influence.
“Justice must not only be done, but also seen to be done,” he said.
Chief Justice: Judges independent of political interference
Tuesday, 10 Oct 2017
7:27 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Judges are independent of political interference when making decisions in court, said Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif.
“As for the independence of the judiciary, I can assure you that we are very independent and free from the influence of politicians,” said Justice Md Raus.
He was answering a question from The Star senior consulting editor in charge of training and legal affairs T. Selva on the extent of judges’ independence during a question-and-answer session at a luncheon talk by the Malaysian Press Institute here Tuesday.
“You can ask all the judges whether there have been any instances where the Chief Justice or President of the Court of Appeal has told them that they must decide in a particular way because this is an important case,” he added.
“So they are free to decide and are independent in terms of making decisions,” he said.
Md Raus, who was appointed to the post on April 1 this year, said his immediate priority is to clear the backlog of cases. He added that he is continuing the reforms of the Malaysian judiciary first initiated by the 12th Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi soon after his appointment in 2008.
The reforms by Zaki saw a substantial number of backlogged cases being cleared within three years thanks to initiatives such as fast-tracking cases, a strict non-postponement policy, the computerisation of courtrooms, and establishing specialist courts.
In 2011, the World Bank in a report recommended the reform to judiciaries in other countries dealing with the same problem.
“We had countries such as Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia among others visiting us in 2012 to learn our model,” Md Raus said.
He added that he has his long-term sights set on improving the quality of judges, which he plans to do through continuous training sessions.
“The training is done three times a year in Malaysia,” he said.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/10/chief-justice-judges-independent-of-political-interference/#LxSczpqqZuJUSv9e.99
On the ground: Md Raus (fifth from left, facing camera) talking to media editors at the luncheon talk entitled ‘Judicial Reforms by the Malaysian Judiciary’.
No political influence in judgment
Wednesday, 11 Oct 2017
KUALA LUMPUR: Judges are free of political interference when delivering judgments, says Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif.
Speaking after a luncheon talk by the Malaysian Press Institute at a hotel here, the top judge said: “As far as the independence of the judiciary (is concerned), I can assure you that we (judges) are independent, free from outside influence and politicians.”
Md Raus said he has his sights set on improving the quality of judges.
“I intend to concentrate on capacity-building through continuous training of judges,” he said at a question-and-answer session.
“In the last four months, when I’m not sitting, I’ve been visiting courts all over the country to meet judges, getting feedback and planning things that needed to be done.
“Most importantly, to ensure that the judges and magistrates are working,” he said at the talk yesterday.
Md Raus is continuing the judicial reforms put in place by the 12th Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, soon after Zaki’s appointment in 2008.
Zaki’s reforms cleared up many backlogged cases and reduced hearing time for newly filed cases, an achievement which was recognised by the World Bank in 2011.
This was a result of initiatives to speed up case processing time such as fast tracking cases, a strict non-postponement policy, computerisation of court rooms and establishment of specialist courts.
“Judicial transformation is a continuing journey,” said Md Raus, who was one of the pioneering members of Zaki’s reform team.
From his visits, Md Raus found that 100% of cases in the magistrate’s courts and 95% of cases in the Sessions courts, both civil and criminal, were being handled within the timeline set.
“For civil cases, the timeline is nine months from the registration date. For criminal cases, it’s nine months for the magistrate’s court and 12 months for the Sessions court,” he added.
In the High Court, 91% of civil cases were being disposed of within nine months while it was 96% for commercial cases and other cases in the Specialised Court within the Commercial Division.
In the Court of Appeal, there were only 55 pre-2016 cases and in the Federal Court, the number of pending cases have been reduced to less than 1,000 in the last four months.
“Despite our success, there are still pre-2016 cases in our courts at all levels,” he said, adding that he has been assured that most of these cases would be settled by the end of 2017.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/11/no-political-influence-in-judgment/#b112VsoAYTjOfB1U.99
Politicians hold no sway over judges, assures Raus
Gan Pei Ling
Published on 10 Oct 2017 2:26PM ·
JUDGES are free to decide on cases without political interference, said Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif.
“As far as the independence of the judiciary (is concerned), I can assure you that we are very independent, free from interference by politicians.
“In fact, you can ask some of the judges appointed from the (Malaysian) Bar – (retired Court of Appeal judges) Mah Weng Kwai, (Mohamad) Ariff Md Yusof and a few others.
“You can ask them if there is any interference, where someone from the top asks them to decide how a case should be decided.
“You can ask all the judges whether the chief justice or Court of Appeal president tells them, ‘hey, this is an important case, you must decide this way’.
“I can assure you that… we tell the judges, ‘you decide according to the law’. And if need be, for example in the magistrate’s court or High Court, if the deputy public prosecutor is not happy, they are free to appeal (at the higher court),” he said during a question-and-answer session at a luncheon talk titled “Judicial Reforms by the Malaysian Judiciary” at Hilton Kuala Lumpur today.
On the public perception that the judiciary is biased towards ruling parties, he said there had been instances where the judiciary decided in favour of opposition parties and against government prosecution.
He called on the media to correct the public perception that the judiciary was partisan and compromised. He said higher court judges never meddled in matters of the lower courts, nor do they direct lower court judges on how to decide on cases.
“They (judges) are free to decide, independent, in the sense of decision-making, but of course, they’re not independent in terms of their work culture.
“We set the tone for work culture. But as far as decisions are concerned, they are independent.
“You can ask judges if there has been any occasion where people from ministries give them instructions.”
Raus and Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin sparked a constitutional controversy when their terms were extended by the Prime Minister’s Office for another three years and two years, respectively, on July 7.
They were appointed to their current posts on April 1, and were due to retire at the age of 66 and six months on August 3 (Raus) and September 27 (Zulkefli).
The Malaysian Bar called an extraordinary general meeting on the matter on August 3, and vowed to file a suit to challenge the unprecedented extension.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, and former chief justices Arifin Zakaria and and Zaki Azmi had defended the term extensions as constitutional.
Raus’ 50-minute speech today focused on the judiciary’s success in speeding up the processing of cases.
“Almost 100% of cases in the magistrate’s court and 95% of cases in the sessions court, both civil and criminal, are being disposed of within the timeline (between nine and 12 months).”
At the High Court, he said, 91% of civil cases were cleared within nine months, and 92% of criminal cases were disposed of within 12 months.
He said at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, only 55 and 59 cases initiated before last year remained unresolved.
The numbers of unresolved cases initiated before last year currently stand at 1,868 criminal and civil cases at the High Court, 854 at the sessions court and 182 at the magistrate’s court.
Raus said the judiciary aimed to clear backlog cases by the end of the year.
The luncheon talk was organised by the Malaysia Press Institute and attended by more than 100 people. – October 10, 2017.
Skrin besar untuk liputan kes berprofil tinggi
10 Oktober 2017
KUALA LUMPUR – Selepas ini para pengamal mungkin tidak perlu lagi beratur seawal pagi untuk mendapatkan pas membuat liputan kes berprofil tinggi di mahkamah.
Ketua Hakim Negara, Tun Raus Sharif berkata, sebuah skrin mungkin boleh dipasang di luar kamar mahkamah tempat prosiding kes berprofil tinggi dijalankan bagi memudahkan petugas membuat liputan.
“Kawasan dalam kamar mahkamah memang sempit, kami tidak boleh ubah. Tetapi apa yang saya boleh fikir sekarang adalah memasang skrin besar di luar supaya para wartawan dapat membuat liputan kes berprofil tinggi walaupun tidak berada di dalam kamar mahkamah,” katanya yang melontarkan idea spontan semasa menjawab soalan seorang pengarang akhbar.
Pengarang itu bertanya apakah yang boleh dilakukan oleh pihak mahkamah bagi memudahkan tugas wartawan membuat liputan kes-kes berprofil tinggi.
Ini kerana, pengamal media terpaksa beratur awal pagi bagi mendapatkan pas khas yang sangat terhad sebelum dibenarkan membuat liputan perbicaraan kes pembunuhan abang pemimpin Korea Utara, Kim Jong nam di Shah Alam, Selangor.
Raus berkata demikian semasa menyampaikan ucapan bertajuk Reformasi Kehakiman oleh Badan Kehakiman Malaysia sempena Majlis Makan Tengahari anjuran Institut Akhbar Malaysia (MPI) di sini hari ini.
Beliau turut berjanji untuk memperbaiki kekurangan yang ada bagi memudahkan tugas media, sekali gus membolehkan pengamal media mendapat maklumat sahih dan seterusnya melaporkan berita yang tepat kepada orang ramai.
Dalam pada itu, Raus berkata, institusi kehakiman juga sedang melalui perubahan terutama dari segi teknologi sejajar dengan perkembangan dunia di hujung jari.
“Sekarang pun sudah ada banyak sistem berteknologi tinggi yang digunakan untuk memudahkan urusan pentadbiran di mahkamah namun kadang-kala ada orang ramai, majistret peguam atau hakim yang berusia seperti saya yang lebih suka cara lama.
“Kami sentiasa mengadakan latihan dari masa ke semasa bagi memantapkan pengetahuan para hakim dan peguam.
“Tidak mustahil 10 atau 20 tahun akan datang, seseorang itu tidak perlu langsung untuk hadir ke mahkamah untuk urusan-urusan tertentu kerana ia boleh dipohon melalui sistem di dalam talian sahaja. Kami sedang berusaha ke arah itu,” katanya lagi.
Ketika ditanya mengenai tahap ketelusan badan kehakiman di negara ini, Raus berkata, ianya sangat telus, bebas dan tidak dipengaruhi mana-mana pihak.
“Namun begitu, apabila melibatkan kes-kes berprofil tinggi seperti ahli-ahli politik, masyarakat cenderung untuk membuat penghakiman sendiri dan apabila berlawanan dengan apa yang kami putuskan, mereka tuduh badan kehakiman tidak telus dan tidak bebas.
“Disebabkan itu juga, sejak kebelakangan ini kami ada mengeluarkan kenyataan ringkas berkenaan keputusan penghakiman sesuatu kes bagi membolehkan orang ramai membaca dan membuat penilaian sendiri tanpa dipengaruhi sesiapa,” katanya lagi.-MalaysiaGazette
Judicial reforms of 2009 have streamlined the legal system
Posted on 10 October 2017
07:09pm
Last updated on 10 October 2017 – 08:11pm
Karen Arukesamy newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The judicial reforms introduced by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Mohamed Azmi in 2009 have not just cleared over 92% of backlog cases, but also sped up the court administration through the e-court system.
Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Shariff however acknowledged that judicial transformation needs to take into account the changing needs of the business community and society.
“There is a need for a constant assessment of what constitutes the backlog and for a methodology to be devised for dealing with it. The judiciary will only serve the public well by providing access to justice and the timely resolution of disputes.
“Above all, the public must have confidence on the ruling and the decisions that we make. This can only be achieved when the decision or ruling made by the judges are free from interference or influence. Justice must not only be done but also seen to be done,” he said in a luncheon talk with academicians and media personnel today.
He also said the reform implementations have been recommended by the World Bank to other judiciaries with similar problems.
“In fact within three years from the time we started the reforms, we succeeded in clearing substantial numbers of the old cases. Our efforts were well documented and we earned accolades from the World Bank in its report in 2011,” Md Raus said.
He said the backlog of cases were cleared with the implementation of the e-court project in 2009 consisting of a case management system, court recording transcription system, queue managing system and the e-filing system.
Md Raus was part of Zaki’s team, along with his successor Tun Arifin Zakaria and former Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen, in the reform team, which was instrumental in the strict implementation of the “no postponement policy”.
“(Zaki) declared an all out war against delays in settlement of cases and resolved to speed up the justice delivery system.
“I was informed by the managing judge of the Commercial Division, that 96% of the cases are being disposed of within a timeline of nine months.
“This is a milestone in the history of our judiciary and an achievement to be proud of. Not even Singapore cases can match our performance in disposing commercial cases. Their timeline is 18 months,” he said.
Chief Justice: Judicial reforms successful thus far, but far from over
BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — The judicial reforms instituted in 2009 under the stewardship of ex-Chief Justice Tun Zaki Mohamed Azmi has borne fruit, Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif said today pointing at a more systematic management of the courts now.
However, Raus said that the job is not yet done and he would continue to push and oversee further improvements, particularly the disposing of backlogged court cases.
“No doubt we have made good progress thus far. But reform is a continuous process. In short term, our immediate concern is the disposal of old cases which are one-year-old or more,” he said.
Raus said that at present, 96 per cent of court cases are being disposed within a nine-month period, labelling the achievement as a milestone in the country’s judicial history and even outdoing Singapore, which imposes an 18-month period.
The success, Raus said, had also received accolades from the World Bank in its 2011 report, in which the organisation recommended that the judiciaries of other nations to follow the Malaysian model.
“However, despite our success in disposing the cases within the deadline, there are still pre-2016 cases pending in our courts at all level. Comparatively, the number is small, but these are the cases that give us a bad name,” Raus said in his speech at a special luncheon with media practitioners here.
Raus said that there are still 182 civil and criminal cases in the Magistrates’ Courts, 854 civil and criminal cases in the Sessions Courts, 1,868 civil and criminal cases in the High Courts, and 55 pending cases in the Appeals Court.
“Since taking over, I have been monitoring these cases. The judges and the managing judges had given me assurance that most of these cases will be disposed of by the end of this year,” Raus said, adding that there were “various reasons” as to why the cases were still pending, and he and his team would seek solutions to it.
Raus said that there is also a constant need for assessment as to what leads to such backlogs and a methodology to overcome the problem.
“The judiciary will only serve the public well by providing access to justice and the timely resolution of disputes.
“Justice must not only be done, but also seen to be done,” Raus added.
He also sought the media fraternity to help change the public’s negative perception of the judiciary, and to educate the masses about the active reform efforts still being carried out.
LIPUTAN MEDIA TV
https://www.facebook.com/BeritaTV3/videos/1933418643339974/
KUALA LUMPUR: Ketua Hakim Negara, Tun Raus Sharif memberi penekanan untuk memperkasakan Latihan Hakim bertujuan meminimumkan kekhilafan sekali gus meningkatkan keyakinan orang ramai terhadap bidang kehakiman negara.
Ujarnya, sejajar dengan perubahan teknologi masa kini dan persekitaran, hakim perlu dilatih mengikut bidang dan kepakaran tertentu mengikut perkembangan semasa.
“Latihan diadakan di Akademi Kehakiman pada hujung minggu mengikut topik tertentu. Ia bertujuan mengelak berlaku kes ditangguhkan berikutan hakim menjalani kursus dan latihan,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian dalam ucapannya pada majlis Bicara Makan Tengah Hari bersama Pengarang dan Pengamal Media anjuran bersama Institut Akhbar Malaysia (MPI) dan Pejabat Ketua Pendaftar Mahkamah Persekutuan.
Jelasnya, pada tahun ini, 266 hakim dan pesuruhjaya kehakiman mengikuti latihan meliputi penulisan penghakiman, pembuktian dan Undang-Undang Fitnah.
Hadir sama pada majlis itu ialah Hakim Besar Malaya, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Ketua Pendaftar, Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif MPI, Datuk Dr. Chamil Wariya.
Turut hadir Pengarang Eksekutif Berita TV9, Wan Sabariah Shikh Ali, Pengarang Bersekutu Berita – Berita Harian (BH), Azhar Abu Samah dan M Thillinadan, Pengarang Kumpulan New Straits Times (NST), Yushaimi Maulud Yahya serta Penulis Khas Kanan Berita dan Ehwal Semasa Harian Metro, Tuan Asri Tuan Hussein.