Malaysia appoints new Chief Justice, easing weeks of controversy over vacant top judge seats

Straits Times

6 days ago

Datuk Wan Farid is filling one of several top spots left vacant for weeks in the nation's highest court following the retirement of several senior judges.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has appointed former deputy minister-turned-judge
Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its new Chief Justice, a move analysts say could help quell public concerns about political interference in the country's judiciary.
The announcement, made in a statement issued by the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, said that the King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar had approved the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and after consulting with the Conference of Rulers.
The appointment of Justice Wan Farid, confirming an earlier Straits Times report, comes amid an unprecedented leadership vacuum in the nation's judiciary that has stirred concerns over the state of the courts and its independence.
While the confirmation that came in the wee hours of July 18 will ease controversy that has been brewing over the post, analysts say meaningful reform to restore confidence in the judiciary can only be achieved if the Prime Minister is no longer part of the selection process for the top bench.
Datuk Wan Farid is filling one of several top spots left vacant for weeks in the nation's highest court following the retirement of several senior judges.
Meanwhile, the statement also named Federal Court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais as President of the Court of Appeal, while Court of Appeals judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi was promoted to Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, according to the statement.
The announcement of a new chief justice follows weeks of controversy and heightened scrutiny over the delay in naming a successor to former Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who retired on July 2.
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The country's highly regarded first female chief justice, who was lauded by peers and the legal community for her integrity and defence of judicial independence, was not given a six-month extension after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 66 – which had been granted in the past to other retiring judges. Currently, Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, who is due to retire in November, is the acting Chief Justice.
Critics, including civil society groups and the Malaysian Bar, had urged transparency and adherence to constitutional processes amid fears of executive overreach, including speculation that Mr Anwar was manoeuvring to have his pick of Federal Court judge Terrirudin Salleh fast-tracked for the top job of chief justice. Tan Sri Terrirudin was appointed directly to the apex court in 2024 while he was still serving as Mr Anwar's attorney-general.
'The appointment of Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid will quell or dispel the notion that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has a hand in picking the Chief Justice,' said geostrategist and Nusantara Strategic Research Academy senior fellow Professor Azmi Hassan.
'It will restore confidence in our legal system that he does not influence the appointment,' he added.
However, not all observers see the new appointments as a full restoration of judicial independence.
'This does not really restore the trust in the judiciary unless they remove the Prime Minister from the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) process. That is the only way to restore confidence,' said Asian Studies Professor James Chin of the University of Tasmania.
Under Malaysia's appointment process, the JAC recommends candidates for the judicial bench, but the Prime Minister is not bound to follow its list when advising the King, who makes the formal appointment.
Still, Prof Chin said the appointment was 'the best outcome for the present circumstances' adding that the real test of judicial independence under the new Chief Justice will come when politically sensitive cases are brought before the courts.
'The big question going forward is whether the new Chief Justice will follow through with Tengku Maimun's ideals. Everyone knows that she was very independent, she stuck to the law. Or will he move the judiciary back into a less independent mode? This is a question that can only be answered when politically sensitive cases go before the courts,' he said.
Mr Wan Farid, 62, is currently a judge of the Court of Appeal – the second-highest court after the Federal Court – and also served as deputy home minister under former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Previously, in a move seen as bolstering public accountability in a long-contentious case, the judge in 2024 had ordered the reopening of an investigation into the 2009 death of Teoh Beng Hock, a political aide to an opposition leader who died after hours of questioning at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office.
In 2022, the judge recused himself from hearing an application by jailed former PM Najib Razak due to his previous affiliation as an Umno politician as well as having a family member still active in the party. He said that should he continue to hear the matter, it could compromise the integrity of the judiciary.
Mr Wan Farid was a High Court judge from 2019 to 2024, after being appointed as a judicial commissioner in 2015. Before that, he practised law in Kuala Lumpur and his home state of Terengganu after being called to the Malaysian Bar in 1987.
He also holds the rare distinction of having served in all three branches of government. He was a senator in 2005 and a deputy home minister in 2008, before joining the judiciary in 2015 after leaving politics.
Public criticism and calls for transparency have mounted since early July over the unprecedented leadership vacuum in the Federal Court, including from within the PM Anwar's coalition, and his own Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party.
The Malaysian Bar also led a protest march on July 14, where hundreds of lawyers took to the streets to voice their concerns over the situation and called for independence of the judiciary.
The police are also currently investigating a purported leak of a classified Judicial Appointments Commission meeting's minutes that detail alleged interference in judicial decisions by a Federal Court judge.
Top judges – including the chief justice, Court of Appeal president and chief judge of Malaya – are appointed by the king on the advice of the prime minister, after consulting the Conference of Rulers.