Tenures of 6 top judges extended, Tengku Maimun’s position unclear, say sources

 

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat (left) will retire on June 30 if her tenure is not extended but Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim is expected to stay in her post until mid-November.

PETALING JAYA: 

Six Federal Court judges and two judicial administrators, due to retire this year, have had their tenures extended by six-months, say sources.

However, they said the status of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat remains unclear.

Sources said Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim, who assumed office last November, will now remain in office until Nov 14. She will be 66 on May 13.

Others who are said to have been offered extensions are Justices Zabariah Yusof, due to retire on April 10, Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil (April 10) and Hanipah Farikullah (May 23).

“However, Abdul Karim is not keen to take up the offer,” a source told FMT.

Article 125 of the Federal Constitution states that superior court judges shall hold office until 66 years, but their tenure can be extended for up to six months if approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The Judicial Appointments Commission had earlier submitted the names of judges it recommends for extensions.

“A copy of the list is usually sent to the Prime Minister’s Department (Office) as these extensions come with financial implications for the government,” the source added.

The second batch of judges who are expected to get their letters are Court of Appeal President Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, set to retire on July 1, and Justice Nallini Pathmanathan (Aug 21).

“However, at this juncture, for reasons best known to the appointing authorities, Tengku Maimun’s position remains unclear,” the source added.

Tengku Maimun, the first woman to be appointed the nation’s top judge, took office in May 2019 and will retire on June 30 this year.

At the opening of the legal year in January, she called for the judiciary’s independence to be defended at all costs and said there should be no interference by “outside parties” in the appointment and elevation of judges, topics that may have spooked the executive.

Meanwhile, Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal is set to retire on April 21, and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli on July 25. Both are already into their extended tenures.

All other apex court judges — Justices Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan, Abu Bakar Jais, Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh — will remain in office for between three and eight years.

Meanwhile, Tengku Maimun is said to be having a challenging task of fixing the coram of judges to hear criminal and civil appeals as no news has been forthcoming about whether the extensions would be granted.

“She wants to ensure all three judges on these panels are still in office when judgments are delivered,” a source said.

Section 78 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 states that proceedings may continue and judgments delivered even if only two judges remain on a panel provided the decision is unanimous.

That provision also states that if the two remaining judges are split in their ruling, the proceeding shall be reheard under Section 78(2) of the Act.

Former Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir said the presence of a fiercely independent Bar will be the best answer to any attempt to subvert or annihilate independence of the judiciary and rule of law.

“The Bar must rally behind the judiciary as it is constrained from defending itself publicly,” Salim said.

Senior lawyer Alex De Silva has filed two motions—one on judicial appointments and independence of the judiciary, and another on the role of the Bar in defending the judiciary —in advance of the Bar’s 79th annual general meeting on Saturday. - FMT