Malaysian lawmaker wants judges presiding over high profile cases to be given bodyguards as threats mount

The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Judges who preside over cases involving well-known people should be given bodyguards to ensure their safety, according to DAP lawmaker R.S.N. Rayer.

Rayer called on the government to provide security personnel to judges, particularly those in the high courts, Court of Appeal, and Federal Court, during his debate on the budget for the Prime Minister’s Department at the committee stage yesterday.

The Jelutong MP said this was due to the widespread offline and online threats made against the chief justice, Tengku Maimun, in cases involving former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Perikatan Nasional information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan. 

“As a lawyer, I appeal to the government to consider providing protection for judges to ensure their and their families’ safety, especially when hearing cases with personalities like Muhyiddin and Wan Saiful,” he said.

In January this year, Tengku Maimun revealed that she had received death threats when presiding over cases involving certain personalities.

The top judge said she even received death threats when she chaired the panel of Federal Court judges that heard Najib Razak’s appeal related to the SRC International Bhd case.

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