00:01The Judicial Appointments Commission had nominated Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat as Chief Justice
00:06despite being a junior federal court judge at the time, according to a former member of the appointing authority.
00:13The former JAC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad accepted the proposal without objections.
00:23However, the former member confirmed that Tengku Maimun's name was submitted by the nine-member JAC and all procedures were followed strictly.
00:33The comments come in the wake of claims by former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad that Tengku Maimun's appointment did not go through the JAC.
00:42These claims are based on a passage in former Attorney General Tommy Thomas' memoir,
00:47which says he suggested Tengku Maimun's name to Mahathir, who then took it to the Conference of Rulers for approval.
00:54The former member, however, said Hamid could not be blamed for relying on the passage in Thomas' memoir, which was quite inaccurate.
01:02The source also said Mahathir had the right to consult the Attorney General, who is the Chief Legal Advisor to the government,
01:09and that Thomas was well-placed to provide details about Tengku Maimun as Mahathir did not personally know her.
