Judiciary to establish special court after Agong's decree on graft

Judiciary to establish special court after Agong's decree on graft

Published: Jan 20, 2026 11:31 AM
Updated: 2:31 PM


The judiciary has announced that it will establish a Special High Court to oversee cases of corruption, in response to the decree by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar yesterday.

It explained in a statement that the decision was made after consultation with the chief justice and the chief judge of Malaya, and that the initiative will take place alongside addressing cases from the existing Special Sessions Courts for Corruption.

“As a start, the initiative will commence at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

“For information, there are currently 14 Special Sessions Courts for Corruption established to hear corruption cases across Malaysia, with the goal of resolving cases within one year from the date of registration.”

The statement was posted on “The Malaysian Judiciary” Facebook page run by the Chief Registrar’s Office of the Federal Court.

During the opening of the first Parliament session for this year, Sultan Ibrahim urged the government to ensure that experienced judges are prepared for corruption hearings and to establish a special track for these cases to be settled urgently.

The monarch had also described the recent cases of corruption in the armed forces as merely the “tip of the iceberg”, declaring the corrupt as “traitors to the country.”

He reminded MPs in the Dewan Rakyat that the culture of corruption must be fought till its end, and stressed that those who engaged in graft, including those sitting in the august house, should be “hunted down, until they are found”.

The Agong’s remarks came on the heels of the Jan 7 arrest of a former army chief over a military procurement project, as well as the seizure of assets worth at least RM11.4 million at residences in Kuala Lumpur and Besut, Terengganu.


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To date, the MACC has also detained a total of 23 individuals in relation to the case, recorded the statements of 30 witnesses, and frozen 75 bank accounts linked to the companies under investigation, amounting to RM32.5 million.


Review of armed forces procurement

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday said that all armed forces and police procurement decisions linked to corruption are temporarily shelved pending full compliance with procurement procedures.

Bernama reported him saying that the government, through the relevant ministries, will review and restructure all procurement processes to ensure transparency within the existing system.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim


At the Umno general assembly last weekend, Defence Minister Khaled Nordin also said that his party was determined to rebuild the nation’s confidence in the armed forces, which he described as the backbone of national security.

Special corruption courts

The existing Special Sessions Courts for Corruption were established by the MACC in 2011.

The 14 courts include three each in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Johor, as well as one each in Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah, and Sarawak.

According to the MACC, the special courts are also tasked with assisting in the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Act by giving adequate remedies and orders.

In 2019, then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also suggested establishing a special court to handle corruption cases.

Mahathir said this proposed special court, which would focus on clearing past corruption cases, was in line with the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP).