Zaharah becomes second woman to be appointed chief judge

The new chief judge of Malaya, Justice Zaharah Ibrahim, said that she is honoured by her appointment to the post after taking her oath today before the most senior High Court judge, Su Geok Yiam.

Also present at the oath-taking were Court of Appeal president Ahmad Maarop, chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak David Wong Dak Wah, and other Federal Court and Court of Appeal judges.

Zaharah, 65, is only the second woman in the country to be appointed to the position after Siti Norma Yaakob held the post from 2005 to 2007.

Originally from Johor, Zaharah graduated from the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya in 1997, and joined the judicial and legal service. She also served as a magistrate in Malacca early in her career.

She was appointed the senior assistant draftsperson and rose to become deputy draftsperson of the Attorney-General's Chambers' drafting division in 1992.

Zaharah also served as Selangor legal adviser from 1994 to 1996.

In 2004, she was appointed judicial commissioner, and was confirmed as a judge two years later.

She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2010, and to the Federal Court in 2015 - Mkini