COMMENT | With the retirement of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat on July 1, Malaysia turns a page in its judicial history. It is equally timely to take stock of the continuing legacy of another distinguished Federal Court judge - Hasnah Hashim.

Still actively serving, Hasnah represents a contrasting school of judicial thought and method: one marked by analytical clarity, doctrinal discipline, and a principled restraint that stands in sharp relief against the sweeping ideological style that came to define Tengku Maimun’s tenure as chief justice.

Justice Hasnah’s jurisprudence is rooted in text, structure, and careful reasoning. Her judgments reflect a judge who sees her task as legal rather than ideological.

In Zaidi Kanapiah v ASP Khairul Fairoz Rodzuan [2021] 5 CLJ 581, she invalidated detention orders not on abstract constitutional grounds but because...