Malaysia gets first woman Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, fills all top judicial posts

Malaysia gets first woman Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, fills all top judicial posts



New Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi as seen after a swearing-in ceremony at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on July 28, 2025. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

Monday, 28 Jul 2025 4:50 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, July 28 — Federal Court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais was sworn in today as the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), while Court of Appeal judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi became the first woman to become the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS).

The two took their oath of office and loyalty during a ceremony at the Palace of Justice here.


Earlier in the morning, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh was appointed and sworn in as the Chief Justice (CJ) of Malaysia at Istana Negara.

Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim will continue on as Chief Judge of Malaya until her retirement in November; she was elevated to the judiciary’s third-highest position last November.


With these appointments, all four of Malaysia’s top judicial positions have now been filled following the retirement of the previous CJ, PCA and CJSS earlier this month.



Azizah, 63, expressed gratitude at being selected to be the CJSS.

“I am from Sibu, so I’m very happy to be considered for this post even,” the Otago University graduate told reporters, adding that she was very surprised to have been appointed to this post as she was a Court of Appeal judge.


“So I was quite surprised, but alhamdulillah everything is in God’s hands, God’s will,” she said.

She also shrugged off any extra pressure due to her gender, saying it was “part and parcel” of the job.

Azizah said she plans to continue her predecessors’ work.

“I will continue what has been done by all the previous CJ, they have done a very good job, and I will continue to do the best that I can over there, in my state.”

Azizah has been a lawyer since 1986, and in 1987 started her 38-year-long career of serving the nation by being a magistrate, with her past roles including being in the AGC.

Prior to her new roles today as a Federal Court judge and CJSS, she was appointed a judicial commissioner at the High Court in November 2012, and a High Court judge on September 12, 2014 and as a Court of Appeal judge on August 8, 2019.



The new Chief of Justice Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh (fifth from left), Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim (fourth from left), President of the Court of Appeal Datuk Abu Bakar Jais (fifth from right) and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi (fourth from right) with other new judge appointees at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on July 28, 2025. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin



Abu Bakar told reporters his new position — the second highest position in the judiciary — is a “huge responsibility”.

“Knowing the fact that this is a multi-religious and multi-racial country, so it is a huge responsibility as President of the Court of Appeal, not easy to satisfy everyone. In fact, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, but hopefully I can discharge my duty without fear or favour,” the 63-year-old Muar-born Universiti Malaya graduate said.

Abu Bakar acknowledged the huge pressure on him to perform well, but said he knows he will have good assistance from his fellow judges and can count on them.

With today’s new appointees, the Court of Appeal is now operating at its full capacity of 32 judges.

Abu Bakar said there are plans to increase the current number of Court of Appeal panels from eight panels to 10 panels of judges.

“Yes, that is the hope, with more panels and more judges, we can sort of expedite the disposal of the cases,” he said, confirming that the hope is for the decisions of Court of Appeal cases to be expedited.

Abu Bakar’s past roles included being a magistrate, being in the AGC including as a deputy public prosecutor, and had also been in private practice for about 12 years.

He was appointed as a judicial commissioner in the High Court in July 2013, as a High Court judge on March 21, 2016, as a Court of Appeal judge on December 5, 2019 and as a Federal Court judge on June 13, 2023.

This afternoon, six individuals were appointed as Court of Appeal judges, namely Shahnaz Sulaiman, Datin Evrol Mariette Peters, Ong Chee Kwan, Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, Leonard David Shim, and Nadzarin Wok Nordin.

Fourteen judicial commissioners were also elevated to High Court judges today, including Maslinda @ Linda Mohd Ainal, Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah, Choong Yeow Choy, Saiful Azian Mokhtar, Evawani Farisyta Mohamad and Indra Nehru Savandiah.

Others appointed as High Court judges are Sumathi Murugiah, Moses Susayan, Kan Weng Hin, Wendy Ooi Su Ghee, Mohd Rosli Yusoff, Hazlina Hussain, Roszianayati Ahmad and Mohamad Haldar Abdul Aziz.

Among those present at the oath-taking ceremony were former chief justices Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Tun Md Raus Sharif and Tun Arifin Zakaria, as well as Malaysian Bar president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab.