Vacant chief judge post has derailed succession plan, says source

 

FMT:

Vacant chief judge post has

derailed succession plan,

says source

V Anbalagan

-21 Sep 2024, 07:00 AM

The appointment of a new chief judge of Malaya was not discussed by the Malay rulers at their July meeting.

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Justices Nallini Pathmanathan, Zabariah Yusof and Hasnah Hashim are the three seniormost judges available for appointment to the post of chief judge of Malaya.

PETALING JAYA: 

A failure to fill the post of chief judge of Malaya (CJM), which has been vacant for almost seven months, has upended the judiciary’s succession plan, according to a source.

Speaking on grounds of anonymity, the source told FMT the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) had intended to recommend one of the more junior Federal Court judges as CJM to replace Zabidin Diah, who went on mandatory retirement on Feb 29.

This was to allow the judge to obtain sufficient administrative experience and exposure in the hope of eventually helming the judiciary when Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat retires,

 the source said.

Tengku Maimun, the country’s first woman chief justice, was appointed in 2019. She is scheduled to retire in June 2025.

The CJM’s duties and functions are presently being exercised by Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, the Court of Appeal president.

Abang Iskandar is scheduled to retire one day before Tengku Maimun.

This is the second time the CJM’s position has been left vacant for an extended duration. Siti Normah Yaakob, the nation’s first woman CJM, retired on Jan 5, 2007, but Alauddin Sheriff was only appointed after a lapse of nine months.

In March, FMT reported that the JAC had submitted the name of its nominee for the position to the Prime Minister’s Department for consideration.

Another two names were submitted later, as permitted by law. A further name was said to have been proposed just prior to the meeting of the Conference of Rulers in July.

However, the source said the matter was not discussed at the rulers’ meeting as all four candidates were relatively junior.

In July, FMT reported that Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh, 56, had been tipped for a seat on the Federal Court in the expectation that he would be appointed CJM, the third highest position in the judicial hierarchy.

However, a group of former Malaysian Bar presidents expressed their reservations on grounds that he was an 

outsider

, had only assumed the AG’s post in September last year, and was relatively young.

They said there were no objectively cogent or compelling reasons to take such an unusual step, especially as there were several more senior and experienced Federal Court judges who could fill the vacancy immediately.

The source, however, said Terrirudin was 

certain

 to be made a Federal Court judge.

Possible CJM candidates

Of the 10 serving apex court judges, eight are available to be considered for the post although the tenures of some among them may be short.

Under Article 125(1) of the Federal Constitution, superior court judges retire at age 66 although their tenure may be extended at the prerogative of the king for up to six months.

Justice Nallini Pathmanathan, the most senior among them, is scheduled to retire in August next year, unless extended.

The rest according to seniority are Justices Zabariah Yusof, Hasnah Hashim, Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan, Abu Bakar Jais, Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Hanipah Farikullah and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.

Harmindar, whose tenure has already been extended, will retire in April next year, and is unlikely to be considered.

Likewise Rhodzariah is believed to be the frontrunner for appointment as chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak next year when the incumbent, Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli, retires.

Lawyer Salim Bashir said under Article 122B of the constitution, all appointments to the top positions in the judiciary are made by the king acting on the advice of the prime minister and in consultation with the Conference of Rulers.

The provision also requires the prime minister to consult the chief justice on key appointments.

However, consultation does not mean he is bound by the advice. The net effect is that the prime minister has the final say in the appointment of superior court judges,

 said Salim.

Lawyer Ramesh NP Chandran said Tengku Maimun has earned the respect of the legal fraternity, both locally and internationally.

She has successfully reshaped public perception of the judiciary by upholding her judicial oath and writing groundbreaking judgments that are consonant with the rule of law,

 he said.

Ramesh said the fair expectation of the legal fraternity and the public at large is that all judges, including the next chief justice and CJM, will faithfully defend the constitution in the performance of their duties.