Salleh Abas
Raja Azlan Shah | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | Abdul Hamid Omar |
Terengganu State Executive Councillor for Accountability and Special Tasks | |
In office 2 December 1999 – 24 March 2004 | |
Monarch | Mizan Zainal Abidin |
Menteri Besar | Abdul Hadi Awang |
Preceded by | Position Established |
Succeeded by | Wan Mohd Wan Hassan |
Constituency | Jertih |
Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly for Jertih | |
In office 29 November 1999 – 21 March 2004 | |
Preceded by | Idris Mamat (UMNO–BN) |
Succeeded by | Idris Jusoh (UMNO–BN) |
Majority | 1,464 (1999) |
Chairman of the Shariah Board of As-Salihin Trustee Berhad | |
In office 23 October 2004 – 16 January 2021 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kampung Raja, | 25 August 1929
Died | 16 January 2021 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia | (aged 91)
Resting place | Sheikh Ibrahim Muslim Cemetery, Jalan Pusara, Kuala Terengganu |
Political party | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) |
Spouse(s) | Azimah Mohd Ali (died 2016) Wan Junaidah Wan Jusoh |
Alma mater | University of Wales |
Mohamed Salleh bin Abas (
Early life
Salleh was born in Kampung Raja,
At the age of 50, he wanted to retire but was persuaded otherwise by then Lord President of the Federal Court,
During Salleh's tenure, the Federal Court became officially the highest court in the land.[5] Previously, its decisions could have been appealed to the British Privy Council, but due to concern over this colonial legacy, the link was officially cut.[4] Salleh later expressed regret over this, as he believed he might not have been fired had the link to the Privy Council been maintained.[4] In 1985, the Federal Court was renamed the Supreme Court.[6]
Constitutional crisis
United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was the major component party and leader of the governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and its President presumably will become Prime Minister of Malaysia. In the 1987 UMNO leadership election, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had challenged the incumbent UMNO President and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and was widely touted to win the Presidency. However, Mahathir won 761 votes to Razaleigh's 718 and remained President. Many of Razaleigh's supporters refused to accept this and argued that the election was tainted.[7] 12 UMNO members filed suit in the High Court, attempting to get a court order for new elections. As part of their evidence, they presented claims that 78 of the 1,479 delegates eligible to vote in the elections were illegal and that several documents involved in the election had been tampered with. Later, one of the 12 plaintiffs withdrew from the suit. Although Razaleigh was not involved in the case, it was widely believed he had been funding and supporting the suit.[8]
On 30 September 1987, the High Court gave the parties two weeks to reach a negotiated settlement. A "Unity Panel" was formed to negotiate between the Mahathir and Razaleigh camps, but it soon appeared the differences were interminable. Razaleigh's supporters wanted new elections held, while Mahathir's supporters insisted that the elections stand and that Razaleigh's camp accept a compromise "face-saving" solution. On 19 October, the plaintiffs announced the continuation of the suit.[9]
Mahathir, who had never been fond of the judiciary, began making heated statements about it at this time. Mahathir declared, "The judiciary says, 'Although you passed a law with a certain thing in mind, we think that your mind is wrong, and we want to give our interpretation.' If we disagree, the courts will say, 'We will interpret your disagreement.' ... We know exactly what we want to do, but once we do it, it is interpreted in a different way." Mahathir also lambasted "black sheep ... who want to be ... fiercely independent" and play to public opinion. Soon after, nine judges sitting on the High Court were reassigned to different divisions; Justice Harun Hashim, who presided over the UMNO case, was transferred from appellate and special powers cases to commercial crimes. However, because the UMNO case was already in progress, his transfer did not take effect until the case closed. Harun later ruled that under the evidence presented, it was clear several UMNO delegates had come from unregistered branches of the party. In line with the law, he declared he was forced to declare UMNO an illegal society, and thereby dismissed the case of the plaintiffs. Mahathir soon formed a new party, UMNO Baru (New UMNO), to replace UMNO. Within a year, the suffix "Baru" was dropped, making it just plain "UMNO".[10]
Mahathir was upset with the judiciary's increasing independence, and in 1988, the government tabled a bill in Parliament to amend Articles 121 and 145 of the Constitution. These amendments divested the courts of the "judicial power of the Federation", giving them only such power as Parliament might grant them. The Attorney-General was also empowered to determine the venues in which cases would be heard.[11]
At this point, Salleh who was then
Salleh, who had gone overseas soon after the letter was sent, was summoned by Mahathir upon his return. Salleh later claimed that at the meeting, Mahathir accused him of bias in the
Salleh was represented by
Instead, Salleh asked the Supreme Court to stay the proceedings because of the tribunal's alleged improper constitution and because the King had been "wrongfully advised".
Post-conviction and politics involvement
Soon after his dismissal in 1988, Salleh was conferred the "Darjah Pahlawan Yang Amat Gagah Perkasa (P.Y.G.P.)", by the Sultan of Kelantan.[19]
Salleh contested the 1995 general election for the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency (an area in Kuala Lumpur which includes the neighbourhood of Bangsar) under the Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) ticket, and failed to be elected.[20]
In the
Later developments
Mahathir Mohamad stepped down from the premiership in 2003 and chose
After the 2008 general election which saw heavy losses for BN, Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet. Within days of his appointment, new de facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim stated that the government had to openly apologise for its handling of the crisis, calling it one of his three main goals: "In the eyes of the world, the judicial crisis has weakened our judiciary system."[23] However, he rejected the idea of reviewing the decision: "I am not suggesting that we re-open the case. I am saying that it's clear to everyone, to the world, that serious transgressions had been committed by the previous administration. And I believe that the prime minister is big enough and man enough to say that we had done wrong to these people and we are sorry."[24]
The Bar Council welcomed the proposal. Newly appointed Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad also voiced support: "The Government has apologised for so many other things to the people, such as the untimely destruction of temples and other issues. So, why not an apology to a former Lord President?"[25]
Death
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, on 14 January 2021, Salleh had tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu.[26]
Salleh died from COVID-19-complicated pneumonia at 3.20 a.m. three days later, at the age of 91.[27][28] He was laid to rest beside the grave of his first wife Toh Puan Azimah Mohd Ali at the Sheikh Ibrahim Muslim Cemetery in Jalan Pusara, Kuala Terengganu.[29][30][31]
Election results
Year | Constituency | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Government | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | P109 Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur | Mohd Salleh Abas ( S46 )
|
10,058 | 29.60% | Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) | 23,447 | 68.99% | 33,984 | 13,389 | 65.22% |
Year | Constituency | Government | Votes | Pct | Opposition | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | N3 Jertih | Mohd Salleh Abas ( PAS )
|
5,075 | 56.20% | Idris Mamat (UMNO) | 3,611 | 39.99% | 9,030 | 1,464 | 78.58% | ||
Wan Mohammad Wan Ahmad (IND) | 66 | 0.73% |
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
- Malaysia :
- Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (JMN) (1966)[33]
- Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (1971)[33]
- Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1983)[33]
- Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun (1985)[34]
- Kelantan :
- Recipient of the Order of the Most Distinguished and Most Valiant Warrior (PYGP) (1988)[19]
- Terengganu :
- Companion of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (SMT) (1963)[3]
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (DPMT) – Dato' (1968)[35]
- Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu (SPMT) – Dato' (1983)[36]
See also
- List of deaths due to COVID-19 - notable individual deaths
Notes and references
- ^ Tun Dato Haji Mohamed Salleh Bin Abas v Tan Sri Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Omar & Ors 1988 [SC]
- ^ Kua Kia Soong (5 January 2018). "World jurists condemned Mahathir for sacking Tun Salleh". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Tun Dato' Dr. Haji Mohd Salleh Abas". as-Salihin Trustee Berhad. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d Aziz, Arfa'eza A (1 July 2002). Former Lord President did it his way, too Archived 18 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Malaysiakini.
- ^ "Jasa Tun Salleh Abas dikenang pengamal undang-undang negara". Kuala Lumpur: Bernama. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "The Malaysian Judiciary". Federal Court of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-19-588988-8.
- ^ Means, pp. 206, 215.
- ^ Means, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Means, pp. 216–219, 225, 230.
- ^ Means, p. 237.
- ^ Means, p. 238.
- ISBN 983-9631-00-4, pg 314
- ^ a b c "Behind closed doors: Mahathir's 1988 showdown with Salleh Abas". Aliran. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Means, p. 239.
- ^ Aziz, Arfa'eza A (1 July 2002). They tried bribing me to leave judiciary quietly: Salleh Abas. Malaysiakini.
- ^ Means, pp. 239–240.
- ^ Means, p. 240–242.
- ^ a b "Kelantan award for Tun Salleh". New Straits Times. 24 August 1988. p. 2.
- ^ "Opposition Win Will Only Bring A Day of Happiness For Voters". Bernama. 2004. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
- BERNAMA.
- ^ Lisa Goh. Nazri: I'm not convinced of need to review 1988 crisis Archived 13 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Star. 12 September 2006.
- ^ McIntyre, Ian (23 March 2008). "Zaid: Govt has to apologise to victims of 1988 judicial crisis". The Star. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
- ^ "Healing the judiciary – first serious move in 20 years welcomed by Bar Council". The Malaysian Insider. 23 March 2008. Archived from the original on 26 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
- ^ "Bar Council backs Salleh apology move". The Star. 24 March 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
- ^ Debra Chong (16 January 2021). "Salleh Abas, former Lord President, dies after warded for Covid-19". Malay Mail. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Tun Salleh Abas meninggal dunia". Astro Awani (in Malay). 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Tun Salleh Abas meninggal dunia". hmetro.com (in Malay). Harian Metro. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Former Lord President Salleh Abas laid to rest". Bernama. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Former Lord President Salleh Abas laid to rest in Terengganu". Malay Mail. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- Berita Harian(in Malay). 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 6 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ a b c "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Bahagian Istiadat dan Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa. Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia).
- ^ "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1985" (PDF).
- ^ "Empat dapat gelaran Dato di-Trengganu". Berita Harian. 27 June 1968. p. 7.
- ^ 294 on Sultan's honours list. New Straits Times. 29 April 1983.
Further reading
- Barbarism to Verdict: A History of the Common Law (Harper Collins, 1994) by Justin Fleming
External links
- May Day for Justice at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009). A book by Tun Salleh Abas.