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.