Top judicial appointments excellent choices - A retired judge's perspective

New Straits Times

19-07-2025

THE appointment of Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as the new Chief Justice of Malaysia (CJ) should be of little concern to the public. He has an impeccable service record as a lawyer and a judge for nearly 10 years.
Those who know him will say that he is a pleasant man of integrity with the administrative skill to authoritatively manage all the courts and registrars, ensuring all support facilities are available for Magistrate, Sessions, and Superior Court judges to function efficiently.
It is important to remember that the Chief Justice's post is administrative in nature, and he also sits as a Federal Court judge.
His job as a Federal Court judge is a simple one: he just has to sit in the coram, which will have subject matter expertise, listen to the submissions, and deliver his grounds of judgment, whatever they may be.
A productive Chief Justice will ensure all coram members write their grounds in important cases to ensure accountability and transparency to the public.
Former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi was an excellent administrator as well as a judge. I am confident Wan Ahmad Farid will show leadership qualities for all judges to write judgments.
I also do not believe he will simply put his name to claim it is the judgment of the Federal Court without others writing theirs.
The appointments of Datuk Abu Bakar Jais as Court of Appeal President and Datuk Azizah Nawawi as the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak are also laudable. Both Abu Bakar and Azizah have carved their names as efficient and integral judges by demonstrating the ability to write dissenting judgments as well.
Malaysians are fortunate to have these top judges. The Malay rulers have made the right choice.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see whether there will be a review of past cases. It is a popular belief among jurists and in the media that Federal Court judgments on criminal cases are final.
This proposition is not correct. The Federal Court can always review its decision if it can be patently shown that the accused was persecuted against the norm of prosecutorial fairness, or that the court did not facilitate a fair trial, or if there was a conflict of interest or patent bias.
Restoring public confidence in the judiciary is key. Will our new Chief Justice follow in the footsteps of Tun Zaki in doing so? Only time will tell.