NST Leader: Of CJ and other judges

New Straits Times

4 days ago

There was a palpable sigh of relief when on Thursday night the Chief Registrar's Office announced the appointment of Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as the new chief justice, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais as the new Court of Appeal president and Datuk Azizah Nawawi as chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
The sigh of relief is understandable. For months, unease had grown across many segments of society over who would fill the big shoes of Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
The big shoes were not due to her being the first woman to occupy the seat, but because she was a judge extraordinaire and later, chief justice extraordinaire.
On July 2, when she retired, she left behind a legacy of judicial independence that is hard to beat.
An extension of the service of a judge of such a calibre would have pleased the country immensely, but it didn't happen. Wishes aren't horses.
For avoidance of doubt, the unease — there was even a walk for justice organised by the Malaysian Bar — wasn't about the extension of Tengku Maimun's service, but about perception of all things to do with the judiciary.
Perception of justice is a good cause to fight for, but those given to wild allegations, which at places became venomous, made the national unease worse. When it comes to the judiciary, perception ranks high.
England's chief justice Lord Hewart gave perception of justice its noble place as long ago as Nov 9, 1923, when he spelt out his dictum in Rex v Sussex Justices: "It is not merely of some importance but of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly be and undoubtedly be seen to be done."
As Malaysians "manifestly" and "undoubtedly" saw justice being done during Tengku Maimun's stewardship of the judiciary, they will now expect the same under the leadership of Wan Ahmad Farid as chief justice.
It is clear that he has big shoes to fill. However, he has shown that he has just the "feet" for them as early as 2022, when he recused himself from hearing a matter concerning the admission of Queen's Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw to represent former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
He did that to avoid any perception that might undermine confidence in the judiciary's independence. Before being appointed a judge, he had been actively involved in politics, even serving as a senator.
Malaysian Bar president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab praised the new chief justice for recusing himself: "In doing so, he made several significant statements on the importance of public confidence in the judiciary, stating that the perception of judicial independence must not be placed in doubt and that it is not a matter of trial and error."
An independent judiciary is a precious gift to any society, and once it is lost, anarchy reigns, wrote Wan Ahmad Farid as a High Court judge when recusing himself on June 16, 2022.
We hope the judiciary under the new chief justice's stewardship will do everything necessary to prevent the precious gift from being lost.