Chief Justice of Malaysia
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The chief justice of Malaysia (Malay: Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia; Jawi: Template:Script/Arabic), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and prior to this it was known as the lord president of the Federal Court. The chief justice is the head of the Federal Court, the apex court of Malaysia. It is the highest position in Malaysian judicial system followed by the president of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia, chief judge of Malaya, and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.[1]
The position is currently vacant following the retirement of Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who served as Chief Justice from 2019 to 2025.
Constitutional basis
The office of chief justice of the Federal Court is established under Article 122 of the Constitution of Malaysia, which establishes the then-Supreme Court (now Federal Court) as consisting of a lord president (now chief justice), the chief judges of the High Courts and at least four other judges and such additional judges as may be appointed pursuant to Clause (1A).[2]
Role
The chief justice is first among equals among the judges of the Federal Court, and the position differs little from that of the other judges. All judges, including the chief justice, are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia), on the advice of the prime minister of Malaysia. Under Article 125 of the Malaysian Constitution, they can be removed only by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on a recommendation from a tribunal consisting of at least five judges who are current or former Federal Court judges.[3][2] Reasons for removal include the chief justice:
- not following the Judges’ Code of Ethics; or
- being physically or mentally unable to carry out his or her duties.
The prime minister will then provide the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the reason(s) why the chief justice should be removed. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will then proceed to set up the tribunal to make a decision.[3]
Chief justices of Malaysia
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As of Template:TODAY a total of 10 chief justices were appointed, listed below :[4][5][6][7][8][9]
| # | Portrait | Chief Justice | Term of office | Prior senior judicial offices | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Abdul Hamid Omar (1929–2009)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
10 November 1988 | 24 September 1994 | Template:Age in years and days | ||
| 2 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Mohd Eusoff Chin (b.1936)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
25 September 1994 | 19 December 2000 | Template:Age in years and days | Chief Judge of Malaya (1994) | |
| 3 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah (1938–2024)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
20 December 2000 | 14 March 2003 | Template:Age in years and days | ||
| 4 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim (b.1941)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
16 March 2003 | 31 October 2007 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1989-1995) | |
| Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (1995-2000) | ||||||
| Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2000-2001) | ||||||
| Chief Judge of Malaya (2001–2002) | ||||||
| President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2003) | ||||||
| 5 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Abdul Hamid Mohamad (b.1943)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2 November 2007 | 18 October 2008 | Template:Age in years and days | President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007) | |
| 6 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Zaki Azmi (b.1945)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
18 October 2008 | 9 September 2011 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2007) | |
| President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007–2008) | ||||||
| 7 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Arifin Zakaria (b.1950)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
12 September 2011 | 31 March 2017 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1994-2002) | |
| Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005) | ||||||
| Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2008) | ||||||
| Chief Judge of Malaya (2008–2011) | ||||||
| 8 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Mohamed Raus Sharif (b.1951)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
1 April 2017 | 10 July 2018 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (1996-2006) | |
| Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2006-2011) | ||||||
| President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2011–2017) | ||||||
| 9 | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Richard Malanjum (b.1952)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
11 July 2018 | 12 April 2019 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (2004-2006) | |
| Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005) | ||||||
| Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2006) | ||||||
| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (2006–2018) | ||||||
| 10 | File:Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat 2019.jpg | TunScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat (b.1959)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2 May 2019 | 2 July 2025 | Template:Age in years and days | Judge of the High Court of Malaysia (2007-2013) |
| Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2013-2018) | ||||||
| Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2018-2019) | ||||||
Living former chief justices
| Name | Term of office | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Eusoff Chin | 1994–2000 | 10 May 1936 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim | 2003–2007 | 1 November 1941 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Abdul Hamid Mohamad | 2007–2008 | 18 April 1943 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Zaki Azmi | 2008–2011 | 12 September 1945 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Arifin Zakaria | 2011–2017 | 1 October 1950 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Mohamed Raus Sharif | 2017–2018 | 4 February 1951 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Richard Malanjum | 2018–2019 | 13 October 1952 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
| Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat | 2019–2025 | 2 July 1959 (age Script error: No such module "age".) |
See also
References
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