KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Cabinet has agreed to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into allegations of judicial misconduct, said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad on Thursday (Feb 21), after a top judge sounded the alarm over claims of abuse and interference in the judiciary.

"We are setting up the RCI and it's up to them to look into the allegations made by the judge," he said.

However, Tun Mahathir said the terms of reference for the RCI have yet to be decided.

"We will set up the RCI and the terms will be determined later," he added.

The setting up of the RCI comes after Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer alleged that senior judges intervened in the decision of numerous trials.

He made the allegation in a 65-page affidavit that was filed on Feb 14 in support of an application by the late MP Karpal Singh's daughter, Ms Sangeet Singh Deo, to declare that the Chief Justice had failed to defend the integrity of the judiciary in court cases.

Datuk Hamid claimed that the scams were carried out by nominees of politicians getting into contracts with the government.

Once the government pulled out of a deal, the private parties would take the government to court to claim compensation.

He alleged that these private parties created contracts with the government to defraud public funds, and the apex court was perceived to be sympathetic to them.

Soon after Dr Hamid's relevation, legal experts and politicians called for an RCI to probe the allegations.