INTERVIEW Show me a retired federal court judge and I will show you one who loves collecting toy soldiers.

Recently retired Federal Court judge Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha is a child at heart.

The 66-year-old father of four collects toy soldiers.

That hobby aside, there is a serious side to the man. He has a profound passion for the law, which he considers a labour of love.

"Sometimes, it's a labour of love or rather, all the time it should be a labour of love.

"I consider it a privilege to have served as judge. One must not regard it as a job but must have the love for the job.

"My advice to junior judges is that they should have a love for the law. To be a judge, one must have a love for the job," Tan said in a recent interview with the media.

Last Friday, Tan, who clocked out at the Palace of Justice for the last time as Federal Court judge to begin his mandatory retirement, said he was happy he had the chance to serve as judge.

Proud to have been with judiciary

On whether he would have chosen a different career path, he replied in the negative, saying that being a judge was a "wonderful job and I am proud to have been a member of the judiciary.

"Being a lawyer, you can only argue what the law is about, but being a judge, you have the opportunity to write on the law," said Tan, who regards himself as "still a kid at heart" because for his love for collecting toy soldiers.

"I have a large toy soldier collection. I spend my free time pursuing my hobbies, collecting toy soldiers and coins."

Tan has written several judgments on prominent cases such the controversial crooked bridge project in Johor Bahru involving businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and the recent Federal Court verdict in the case of former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo ( on right in picture ), whose conviction and 12 month-jail sentence was upheld for using his position to obtain land and a bungalow.

Tan said he was to have retired on May 16, but was given a six-month extension.

A substantial part of his life was devoted to the judiciary, having served 21 years and 15 days with the institution.

"I always tell myself that behind the lawyer is a client. So, the most important person is not the lawyer but the client, the litigants.

"So, regardless of the standing of counsel and the ability of counsel, I remind myself to look at the facts of the case and the law, quite independent of everything else," said Tan.

‘Judiciary not influenced at all’

He asserted that the judiciary was independent and to his knowledge the institution was "not influenced at all".

Tan said judges not only had to write judgments but vet them as well. At the appellate court, if it was a collective decision, one judge would be picked to write the judgment and he would pass the judgment to the other judges who had presided on the panel for comments and corrections, which could take some time before the court could deliver the judgment.

"If possible, write a paragraph a day, if you can. Come back to your room and then sit down and have your coffee and after your coffee, just open your computer and just write.

"But sometimes, judges need inspiration… I always believe judges are like artists, sometimes you can't paint, sometimes you can find all the right colours but you still got to plough, you got to push through.

"I always tell my officer that writing a judgment is like building a road in the jungle, never mind where you can see, just plough through and continue...," he said.

Tan noted that judges were not in an enviable position because they could not reply to criticism or enter the public arena.

"Even if the criticism is unwarranted or not fair, we just… I suppose we say we give them the other cheek. There is no other way, otherwise the person answering would enter into a controversy," he said.

Asked how he countered rumours that certain court case decisions had been "fixed", Tan said rumours were beyond the control of judges but judges would ensure that justice was done and justice was seen to be done, and part of that was to give reasons for their decision.

He hopes to join his former colleagues, who have retired, to do arbitration work.

- Bernama