
Wan Ahmad Farid to be sworn in as Chief Justice tomorrow
Wan Ahmad Farid, 62, succeeds Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who retired on July 2.
The swearing-in ceremony and the handover of the letter of appointment are scheduled to take place at Istana Negara.
In addition to Wan Ahmad Farid, eight newly appointed Court of Appeal Judges and 14 High Court Judges are also expected to be sworn in.
Also appointed are Federal Court Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais as the President of the Court of Appeal, and Datuk Azizah Nawawi as the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, replacing their respective predecessors who are due to retire.
Wan Ahmad Farid, who hails from Kuala Terengganu, was appointed as a Court of Appeal Judge on Nov 12, last year.
He received a law degree from the University of West London in 1985, and received a Certificate in Legal Practice from Universiti Malaya in 1986.
His legal career began as an advocate and solicitor at the law firm Messrs Adnan and Wee in Kuala Terengganu, where he served from 1987 to 2003.
In addition to his legal career, he was active in administration and politics, having served as political secretary to former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from 2003 to 2008, before being appointed as deputy home minister from 2008 to 2009.
Between 2011 and 2015, he returned to legal practice as an advocate and solicitor at Messrs Wan Farid and Surin in Kuala Lumpur.
Wan Ahmad Farid began his judicial career as a Judicial Commissioner at the Shah Alam High Court, the Kuala Lumpur High Court, and the Kota Baru High Court from 2015 to 2019.
He was subsequently appointed as a High Court Judge from 2019 to 2024, serving at the Kota Bharu High Court, the Shah Alam High Court (Special Powers Division), and the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Special Powers Division 3).
In 2024, he played a key role in delivering judgment in a suit filed by lawyer Dr Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar Al Mahdzar concerning the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's powers in declaring a state of emergency.
In his ruling, Wan Ahmad Farid held that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's power to declare an emergency under Article 150 of the Federal Constitution is non-justiciable and therefore cannot be reviewed by the courts.
Wan Ahmad Farid was also part of the panel of judges that heard a Federal Court case involving a land dispute over 263.272 acres at Duta Enclave, involving Semantan Estate Sdn Bhd.
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