Mahathir says no to probe judge

Mahathir says no to probe judge

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that a "political agenda" was behind efforts to topple Malaysia's No. 1 judge over allegations he compromised his duties while on holiday in New Zealand.

Mahathir, quoted by the national Bernama news agency, accused the country's top legal association of trying to pit the judiciary against Malaysian political leaders.

On Saturday, the Malaysian Bar Council scheduled an urgent meeting to be held later this month to debate whether Chief Justice Eusoff Chin breached judicial ethics by spending time with a high-profile lawyer while on vacation in New Zealand in 1994.

The association, which represents 9,000 lawyers, said it would also decide whether to ask the government to set up a commission to probe Eusoff's conduct.