Malaysia’s largest party in the ruling coalition has made a last-minute appeal to extend the tenure of the country’s two top judges as concerns over a leadership vacuum in the judiciary intensify.
At midnight on Tuesday, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s tenure as chief justice officially ended as she turned 66, while Court of Appeal President Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim will reach the mandatory retirement age on Wednesday midnight. Although the constitution allows for a six-month extension, none has been granted.
With five other senior judges also set to retire by year’s end, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the largest party in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, urged the prime minister to retain the judges, saying public confidence in the judiciary was “of paramount importance”.
“There will be many vacancies left in the Federal Court due to the recent and impending retirements of [the judges], which makes it all the more important to retain the current chief justice and president of the Court of Appeal to ensure a smooth transition of new appointees in due course,” the DAP’s Central Working Committee said.
Their appeal came after Anwar said he was being pressured by groups lobbying to retain the judges for their own interests. He defended his silence, saying it was to avoid interfering with judicial procedures, which included obtaining the king’s consent.
“All these procedures must be followed,” he said on Monday.
