Kota Kinabalu High Court Judge Has Resigned

KUALA LUMPUR: High Court Justice Ian Chin (pix), who once said that he had been among judges sent to a boot camp back in 1997 that sought to encourage judges to rule in the Government’s favour, has tendered his resignation and will leave office on Dec 1.

Justice Chin wrote a letter to the king on July 16 to resign and went on leave from August 21 till November 30.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department T. Murugiah said this in reply to Tian Chua (PKR - Batu) who asked if the government had taken steps to investigate Justice Chin’s allegations against former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Murugiah said there was no need to investigate the matter as Justice Chin had resigned.

Earlier, Murugiah told Mukhriz Mahathir (BN - Jerlun) that the Government did not intend to make a representation to the king to cite Justice Ian before a tribunal.

In June, Justice Chin caused a stir when he claimed that Dr Mahathir had made a thinly veiled threat against the judges at the Judges Conference on April 24, 1997, that they could be sacked if they failed to deliver judgements in the Government’s favour.

Justice Chin also said that Dr Mahathir was dissatisfied over his unwillingness to award astronomical sums in damages in two libel suits in 1997 and that "errant" judges were sent to a boot camp in an "attempt to indoctrinate them to hold the view that the Government's interest was more important than all else."

Dr Mahathir, in his blog, has denied the claims, saying the judges had never been sent to a boot camp.