Bar to hold EGM over judicial vacancies as CJ's term ends

Summary

• The Bar Council calls for an extraordinary general meeting on July 26 amid anxiety over judicial vacancies.

• Multiple top judges are set to retire soon, raising concerns over continuity and judicial independence.

The Bar Council has called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss judicial vacancies, as tensions rise over the end of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s term, with no successor named.

According to a July 1 circular sighted by Malaysiakini, the EGM is scheduled to take place on July 26 at Menara Matrade in Kuala Lumpur, beginning from 10am.

The agenda for the meeting is “to discuss matters and, if deemed fit, to pass one or more resolutions with regard to vacancies in the judiciary, its office bearer positions, and the appointment process, continuity in leadership of the judiciary, and the independence of the judiciary, in general.”

Tengku Maimun, 65, is serving her last day in office today and will retire tomorrow unless her term is extended by six months, as allowed by the Federal Constitution and pushed for by various quarters.

Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim will also have his last day in office tomorrow, with his 66th birthday falling on Thursday.

They will be joined in the following months by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli, and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Zabariah Yusof, and Hanipah Farikullah.

Rahman, Zabariah, and Hanipah have already had their terms extended by six months.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Bar slammed the ongoing silence and hesitation over Tengku Maimun’s service extension.

Its president, Ezri Abdul Wahab, cautioned that leaving the chief justice post in uncertainty so close to Tengku Maimun’s retirement reflects a failure in institutional responsibility, adding that a breakdown in governance risks damaging public confidence in the judiciary.

DAP lawmaker and former deputy law minister Ramkarpal Singh also shared similar sentiments on Sunday, saying it is important to allow for a continuation of the status quo of the judiciary’s current administration to ensure a smooth transition when the new batch of Federal Court judges takes over.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has since pushed back at alleged attempts to lobby the government into extending Tengku Maimun’s tenure.

He said they were attempts to politicise the judiciary, insisting it should not happen with an independent institution.

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