Senior judge in Negri transgender case left out in promotion exercise

Thethree transgender who received a reprieve from the Court of Appeal last November, by a three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 16, 2015.Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, the Court of Appeals judge who ruled that transgenders are constitutionally protected, was not elevated in the latest round of judicial promotions.

Hishamudin, who will retire in September, was the most senior judge missing the promotion exercise which saw four judges elevated today.

Another Court of Appeal judge, Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim, was elevated to the Federal Court.

High Court judge Datuk Zamani A.Rahim, a former legal practitioner, was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, Judicial Commissioners Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Datuk Douglas Primus Sikayun were confirmed as High Court judges.

The four received their letter of appointments from the Yang DiPertuan Agong at Istana Negara today.

Hishamudin's retirement this year narrowed prospects of him going up the judicial ladder, as well as there being more vacancies in the Federal Court.

He is best remembered for delivering the landmark judgment in November last year when he led the appellate court's three-member bench in declaring as unconstitutional a provision in the Negri Sembilan religious enactment that criminalised Muslim men from cross dressing.

Hishamudin held that Muslim transgender males have the right to cross-dress and the state religious authorities had failed to prove Islam's position on how those who suffered from gender identity disorder (GID) should dress.

He said the three Muslims in the case were not "normal males" as they suffered from the disorder, which had been confirmed through psychiatric and psychological tests.

The religious authorities did not rebut the medical evidence, the appeals court had said in its written judgment.

The Negeri Sembilan government has been granted leave by the Federal Court to challenge the Court of Appeal's ruling.

- TMI