MCA chief wants multiracial judiciary

Ong says move would improve impartiality on sensitive issues

MALAYSIAN Chinese Association (MCA) president Ong Ka Ting wants the judiciary to be more multiracial to reflect the ethnic composition of the country.

'We cannot help but notice that the composition of our judiciary does not reflect the multiracial aspect of our society,' he said in his address to Parliament on Wednesday.

The MCA leader said having more judges from different races will correct the perception that judges were not able to act fairly or independently when handling sensitive issues.

'We must correct any perception that our judges will not be able to adjudicate fairly and impartially on sensitive issues relating to religion if a person's faith becomes an issue before a panel of judges whose religious faith and belief differs from his or hers,' he said.

He added that 'factors such as religion, race and their cultural backgrounds can influence their thinking'.

Datuk Seri Ong, however, said he was not pushing for a racial quota on judicial appointments as they 'must be based on merit, capability, intelligence, independence and integrity'.

Datuk Seri Ong hopes that the establishment of the Judicial Commission will stop accusations that only those with connections are made judges or judicial commissioners.

One way to do this, he said, was to devise a stringent vetting process for potential candidates.

He suggested the Judicial Commission should also be allowed to recommend candidates as magistrates and Sessions Court judges.

Currently, these judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

Datuk Seri Ong is also keen to restore trial by jury for serious crimes.

His two-hour speech also touched on religious conversions in Malaysia. Non-Muslims who convert to Islam to marry should be allowed to renounce the religion after the marriage has ended, the MCA leader said.

He said his party, which is a component of the ruling Barisan Nasional, did not want non-Muslims to be subjected to any form of syariah law.

Datuk Seri Ong was reported by The New Straits Times as saying that if a child was unilaterally converted to Islam by one parent, the child should be allowed to maintain his or her original religion until he or she attains a majority age.

He noted that, in the last three years, the country had witnessed an 'unprecedented' number of religious matters involving constitutional rights of non-Muslims.

'Non-Muslims are not to be subjected to any form of syariah law. For disputes or overlapping areas involving the jurisdiction of civil and syariah courts, civil laws must prevail.'

Likewise, in cases involving inheritance, if a convert dies, the estate of the deceased prior to conversion should be subjected to the civil laws on inheritance and succession, he said.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK