Terrirudin to retire as AG on Nov 11, set to become Federal Court judge

Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh is set to be appointed as a Federal Court judge after his retirement on Nov 11, Bernama reported today.

Terrirudin, 56, was appointed as AG on Sept 6 last year, succeeding Idrus Harun, whose contractual appointment ended on Sept 5.

Before holding this position, Terrirudin served as the solicitor-general.

On July 9, Free Malaysia Today reported a source saying that Terrirudin is tipped for appointment as a Federal Court judge and may later be appointed to occupy the post of Chief Judge of Malaya, the third highest post in the judicial hierarchy.

The position has been left vacant since Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah retired on Feb 29.

“He is likely to be appointed a Federal Court judge first and Chief Judge of Malaya by the end of September in accordance with constitutional requirements,” the source told FMT.

Another possibility is for Terrirudin to be made a judge of the Federal Court, with the Chief Judge of Malaya’s post left vacant for the time being. The reason for such a move is unclear, the source said, although the possibility of it happening is remote.

However, the idea received brickbats from Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), which urged the government to nominate candidates for the four top positions in the judiciary, from within the judiciary and not from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

On Aug 1, MalaysiaNow reported a source saying that Terrirudin’s name is not among those recommended by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to fill the position of Chief Judge of Malaya.

The same report quoted an official at the Prime Minister’s Department declining to comment on the matter, saying only that the government was not obliged to accept the chief justice’s candidates.

Halt donation drive

On a related matter, the AGC has urged staffers to halt a donation drive to honour Terrirudin.

In a statement today, the AGC said Terrirudin himself had requested for the donation drive to be stopped.

“Although this donation drive was well-intentioned, the AG has requested for it to be discontinued,” read the statement, which was issued in response to the donations allegedly being sought from deputy public prosecutors to honour the retiring AG.

The matter went viral on Telegram and other social media platforms after the AGC personnel were allegedly asked to make monetary contributions to purchase a retirement gift for Terrirudin, in recognition of his many contributions and efforts to the prosecution division.

The viral message also said that the donations should be made according to the donors’ grade - Turus (RM500), Jusa A (RM400), Jusa B (RM300) and Jusa C (RM200), as well as L44 (RM30) and L41 (RM20).

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