Azahar Mohamed appointed chief judge of Malaya

Azahar Mohamed has been performing the duties and functions of the chief judge of Malaya since the retirement of Zaharah Ibrahim on May 16.

PETALING JAYA: Senior Federal Court judge Azahar Mohamed has been appointed as chief judge of Malaya (CJM), a post left vacant since May, sources say.

Azahar, 63, had been performing the duties and functions of the chief judge following the retirement of Zaharah Ibrahim on May 16.

Azahar was appointed as a Federal Court judge in 2014, and had vast experience in the Attorney-General’s Chambers before his elevation to the bench. He was also a managing judge of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

He was appointed a judicial commissioner in 2004 and elevated to a High Court judge two years later before being promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2011.

A source also told FMT that Court of Appeal judges Abdul Rahman Sebli and Vernon Ong Lam Kiat will be elevated to the Federal Court.

Four High Court judges – Ravinthran Paramaguru, Lee Swee Seng, Azizah Nawawi and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera – will be promoted to the Court of Appeal while seven judicial commissioners on probation have been confirmed as High Court judges.

They are Roslan Abu Bakar, Abdul Wahab Mohamed, Hassan Abdul Ghani, Chan Jit Li, Muhammad Jamil Hussin, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and Khadijah Idris.

The judiciary’s corporate communication unit said in a statement that the oath-taking ceremony for the CJM, Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court judges will be held at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on Thursday afternoon.

The judges will receive their appointment letters from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara earlier in the day.

The Judicial Appointments Commission had proposed the names of the judges for elevation.

Under Articles 122B of the Federal Constitution, the king appoints judges, including officer-bearers, to the judiciary on the advice of the prime minister after consulting the Conference of Rulers. - FMT