The Chief Registrar’s Office has confirmed the appointments of Malaysia’s new top three judicial figures, ending days of speculation over the judiciary’s leadership reshuffle.
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has consented to the appointment of Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as the new Chief Justice, in line with Article 122B(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Datuk Abu Bakar Jais has been appointed President of the Court of Appeal, while Datuk Azizah Nawawi will serve as Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
Wan Ahmad Farid, 62, a former Umno member, began his public service as a senator in December 2005 and was Deputy Home Minister from March 2008 to April 2009. He contested the 2009 Terengganu by-election but narrowly lost, and left politics in 2013.
In November 2024, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal. As a judge, he has delivered notable rulings in constitutional and civil liberties cases. In February last year, he held that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s power to declare an emergency under Article 150 is non-justiciable, based on the principle of separation of powers. He also presided over cases concerning the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court and public resource allocation.
He recused himself from hearing Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application to appoint a foreign Queen’s Counsel in the SRC International appeal, citing his political background and family ties to Umno.
Abu Bakar, 60, from Muar, Johor, is recognised for his legal expertise and calm presence in high-profile cases. He was appointed judicial commissioner on 7 July 2013, confirmed as High Court judge on 21 March 2016, and elevated to the Court of Appeal on 5 December 2019. He became a Federal Court judge on 13 June 2023.
He was on the five-member panel reviewing Najib’s SRC International case in August 2022 and led the panel hearing the appeal over the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school fire.
In May, he wrote the majority judgment in a landmark ruling affirming that Syariah Courts are constitutionally recognised and not inferior to civil courts. He also co-authored Malaysia’s first book on statutory interpretation, launched in May 2023.
Azizah, currently a Court of Appeal judge, was elevated to the appellate bench on 8 August 2019 after serving as a High Court judge from 12 September 2014.
In October 2023, she recused herself from hearing Najib’s appeal to reinstate a lawsuit against former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, citing judicial impartiality as her husband had served in the Attorney-General’s Chambers during Thomas’s tenure.
In August 2023, she was part of a three-member panel that dismissed a woman’s appeal to renounce Islam, upholding the Syariah Court’s jurisdiction under Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution.