KUALA LUMPUR - De facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz broke his predecessor's word when he revealed the ex-gratia amount paid to the six judges involved in the 1988 judicial crisis.

"The word of a minister should mean something," said Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who resigned as de facto Law Minister following the arrests of the editor of an online news portal, a Member of Parliament and a journalist.

On Thursday, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department announced in Parliament that former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and five ex-Supreme Court judges were paid a total of RM10.5mil (S$4.42mil) as ex-gratia payment.

"It is an honourable thing to keep a promise and I kept it. But obviously the present minister thinks otherwise," Zaid told a press conference yesterday.

He added that he doubted the real pressure to reveal the amount came from Opposition MPs.

"I would not have caved in to the Opposition but at the same time, I don't think the pressure came from the DAP - it was from elsewhere," Zaid said when asked whether he would have caved in to Opposition pressure if he were in Nazri's shoes.

However, he did not specify whom he meant by "elsewhere".

Zaid said although he was all for transparency, there were times when exceptions could be made.

"We must be transparent then in all cases and not only when we make payment to five old people.

"It leaves a bitter taste (in the mouth) for them because they never asked for the money. We volunteered to give it to them," said Zaid.

He reiterated that the judges were sacked and not asked to retire early as contended by Nazri.

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during whose tenure the judicial crisis occurred, also said last week that Salleh and the two other judges were sacked.

Zaid said the ex-gratia payment was given in kindness and it was wrong to question it now.

"This may be something that some people may not understand but I hope the public will understand that respect should be given to these people if we think they have been wronged. "Let them retire in peace," he said, while also urging the media to get the viewpoints of the other judges.

Zaid said the amount given was calculated from their loss of income, what they would have earned, a loss in reputation and the shame they had suffered.

He urged the matter not to be politicised further.