Analysis

Appointment of Malaysia’s new chief justice eases controversy over vacant top judge seats for now

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Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh is filling one of several top spots left vacant for weeks in the nation’s highest court following the retirement of several senior judges.

PHOTO: MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY

Summary

• Former deputy minister-turned-judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh is Malaysias new Chief Justice. The much anticipated announcement will help quell controversy over independence of the judiciary.
• Analysts debate if the PMs role in judicial appointments undermines true independence, highlighting the need for the new Chief Justice to uphold judicial integrity.
• Federal Court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais is appointed President of the Court of Appeal, while Court of Appeals judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi was promoted to Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak.

AI generated

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has appointed former deputy minister-turned-judge

Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its new chief justice,

The announcement, made in a statement issued by the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, said that the King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, had approved the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and after consulting with the Conference of Rulers.

The appointment of Justice Wan Ahmad Farid, confirming an earlier report in The Straits Times, comes amid an unprecedented leadership vacuum in the nation’s judiciary that has stirred concerns over the state of the courts and its independence.

While the confirmation that came in the wee hours