First Sarawakian President of Court of Appeal, Abang Iskandar, retires after over four decades in law and justice
Tomorrow, Abang Iskandar will turn 66, the mandatory retirement age for judges.
He has served for more than two years and five months as the PCA, which is the second highest-ranked post in the judiciary.
This afternoon, Abang Iskandar marked the end of his tenure as Malaysia's 12th President of the Court of Appeal in a low-key fashion.
It is understood that judicial staff started streaming into his office since 3pm today to bid farewell and to take photographs with him.
Media personnel were allowed to also meet him and take photographs with him.
Earlier this morning, two lawyers who appeared before Abang Iskandar in a court case today wished him a happy retirement, after he had delivered one of his final court decisions.
Yesterday, eight lawyers also took turns in the courtroom to speak on behalf of the Malaysian Bar and other lawyers to express their appreciation and gratitude to both Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and PCA Abang Iskandar.
Abang Iskandar, who was born in Sibu, Sarawak, and is a Universiti Malaya (UM) law graduate, has spent 42 years serving the nation in the judicial and legal services.
In his long career, he has served as a magistrate, a Sessions Court judge, and chairman of the Department of Cooperative Development Malaysia tribunal.
Abang Iskandar, who was born in Sibu, Sarawak, and is a Universiti Malaya (UM) law graduate, has spent 42 years serving the nation in the judicial and legal services. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
He has also been the head of the general crime unit and commercial crime unit in the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) for seven years; the head of Bank Negara Malaysia's prosecution unit for two years; and the director of Securities Commission's (SC) enforcement division for three years.
Abang Iskandar later spent 18 years at the High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court, starting with his role as judicial commissioner in March 2007.
He was appointed as a High Court judge on October 14, 2009; a Court of Appeal judge on September 30, 2013; and a Federal Court judge on November 26, 2018.
Abang Iskandar was appointed as Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak on February 20, 2020, and PCA on January 17, 2023.
Throughout his career, Abang Iskandar also helped shoulder judicial responsibilities when some of the judiciary's top four positions were vacant and had yet to be filled.
He served as acting PCA from November 2022 until his appointment as PCA in January 2023, and had also served as acting Chief Judge of Malaya from March to November 2024 until the position was filled by the current CJM Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
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