Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, said she had spoken up when the Perikatan Nasional government suspended Parliament, a move which she said undermined democracy.

In 2021, Parliament was suspended after a nationwide emergency was declared at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The former Permatang Pauh MP also said she spoke up when Dr Mahathir Mohamad failed to fulfil his promises in his second stint as prime minister.

“Today, I must speak up again to ensure that the Madani government continues to protect the integrity of the judiciary,” she said in a social media post.

Nurul Izzah said she joined the walk as a concerned citizen “to listen, to witness for myself, and to express solidarity with the concerns raised by the Bar Council”.

She said an independent judiciary is an essential bulwark against overreach by the executive, the Cabinet, and the government.

“The most crucial thing in an independent judicial system is the lack of interference from internal or external forces.

“In the spirit of reform and justice, which are the foundations of PKR, we need to improve the existing structure by making it more transparent.”

Earlier today, members of the Malaysian Bar gathered outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya for a symbolic march to defend the integrity of the judiciary.

Dressed in black suits and white shirts, the lawyers held up placards and chanted slogans before commencing their walk to the Prime Minister’s Office at 2.30pm.

Other notable figures spotted at the walk included former Bar presidents Ambiga Sreenevasan and Karen Cheah, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, former attorney-general Tommy Thomas and former Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim.

The event was organised following the Bar’s call for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry into alleged interference in judicial appointments, which the legal body says poses a serious threat to the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law.