Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar Al Mahdzar said Section 9 (1) of the law states that the appointment of any eminent member can be revoked without reason.

“The prime minister has the authority to replace members if they do not want to resign,” he told FMT.

The four eminent persons – former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, retired Court of Appeal judge Anantham Kasinather, former Sarawak attorney-general Abdul Razak Tready and Universiti Malaya law professor Choong Yeow Choy – were appointed to the JAC by Najib on April 17 last year.

Their two-year term was scheduled to expire on April 16 next year.

However, they were replaced by Mahathir effective Sept 4, marking the first time that the term of eminent members was cut short since the JAC was set up in 2009.

In their place, Mahathir appointed former Court of Appeal judges Mah Weng Kwai, Hishamudin Yunus and Linton Albert, and law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi.

The position of Federal Court judge Azahar Mohamed, who was also appointed to the JAC by Najib, remains unaffected by the move.

Chief Justice Richard Malanjum, who was appointed on July 11, is JAC chairman by virtue of his position.

Other members are Court of Appeal president Ahmad Maarop, Chief Judge of Malaya Zaharah Ibrahim and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak David Wong Dak Wah.

Syed Iskandar said the new appointments were fit and proper as the previous nominations by Najib were made under “bizarre circumstances”.

“There were calls for the previous eminent persons to vacate their positions following the change in government, but they did not do so,” he added.

The lawyer said Mahathir had only applied the law in appointing new eminent persons to the JAC.

Following the May 9 general election which saw Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition sweeping to federal power, Syed Iskandar and retired judge Gopal Sri Ram had urged the four eminent persons appointed by Najib to resign of their own accord.

“It can be implied that their tenure was only valid as long as Najib was in power. They cannot remain in the JAC to advise Mahathir,” Syed Iskandar had told FMT.

Sri Ram meanwhile said the four owed their appointments to an individual who was no longer the prime minister.

“It cannot be ruled out that these persons were chosen by the former prime minister for an ulterior purpose,” he added.

Last month, the Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) also issued a statement calling for the resignation of the four together with that of Azahar, citing possible conflict of interest.

Its president Ranbir Singh Sangha said Arifin had been named as a party in a constitutional reference brought by AAS and the Malaysian Bar to challenge the appointments of two former top judges.

He said Arifin, being an active litigant, should not be sitting in the JAC which might influence the appointment of judges.

He said the rest had endorsed Arifin’s recommendation and it did not seem proper for them to continue in their present positions in the JAC either.

He warned that public perception and that of the legal community might also be coloured as all five were appointed by Najib, who has been charged with various offences since his defeat in the general election.

Sri Ram said Mahathir should be congratulated for appointing a good set of eminent persons to select judicial officers for elevation and promotion.

“He has picked distinguished retired judges and an academic who are scrupulously honest and entirely independent,” he said.