KUALA LUMPUR: Former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was involved in the sacking of former Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas, in 1988.
Abu Talib said the '1988 Constitutional Crisis' was made possible via a tribunal which received the consent of then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the late Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail.
"It is untrue to say that I had used Dr Mahathir's name without his knowledge. At the time, I had advised him that removing an active Chief Justice could not be done without following the Federal Constitution.
"I also reminded Dr Mahathir that as the prime minister, he has a responsibility to protect and uphold the Federal Constitution," he said.
Abu Talib said, Salleh's removal could only be done via Article 125 (3) of the Federal Constitution, which requires a tribunal to be set up to establish whether any misconduct had taken place, before the Chief Justice can be sacked.
“The tribunal can only be established on a representation made by the prime minister to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"And as Dr Mahathir and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong agreed that action should be taken, I drafted the necessary papers for the establishment of the tribunal," he said.
Abu Talib added that communications with the palace to inform them of the establishment of the tribunal was handled by the Prime Minister's Office.
"In this matter, the name of the prime minister and his office was used as the Federal Constitution states that a tribunal can only be formed via a representation made by the prime minister.
"This happened back in 1988, and we cannot expect Dr Mahathir to remember every single piece of information concerning what happened that time," he said.
Abu Talib was AG for 13 years from 1980 to 1993.