KUALA LUMPUR: History was made yesterday when, for the first time ever, five women judges were elevated to top positions in the Malaysian judiciary, marking a significant step forward for women empowerment in the country.
Heading the list was Federal Court judge Datuk Rohana Yusuf, who became the country’s new Court of Appeal president.
Court of Appeal judges Datuk Zaleha Yusof, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Hasnah Mohammed Hashim were promoted to Federal Court judges.
High Court judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail became a Court of Appeal judge.
With the appointments, there are now six women Federal Court judges out of 13. The sixth female Federal Court judge is Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah presented the judges their instruments of appointment at a ceremony at Istana Negara.
Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, said Sultan Abdullah expressed his pride over the appointment of the women judges.
He said the king felt that this reflected the national administration’s effort to have more women in the judiciary.
The swearing-in ceremony was witnessed by Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who herself made history by becoming the first woman to hold the highest position in the judiciary.
Also present was Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ismail Bakar.
Rohana, 63, from Bachok, Kelantan, is the first woman to be appointed Court of Appeal president, the second highest position in the judiciary.
She obtained an LLB (Hons) from Universiti Malaya in 1980 and began her career in the judicial and legal services as a legislative assistant (Parliament law) at the Attorney-General’s Chambers the same year.
She was appointed a judicial commissioner on Sept 1, 2005, then a High Court judge on April 17, 2007.
On Jan 8, 2013, she was appointed as a Court of Appeal judge and became a Federal Court judge on April 27 last year.
Former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi congratulated Rohana on her appointment and said he believed she would take the Court of Appeal to higher levels.
“Congratulations to her. She is an extremely capable and knowledgeable judge.
“I am sure she will lead the Court of Appeal to greater heights,” he told the New Straits Times.
Tengku Maimun advised the judges to always uphold the principles of separation of powers, judicial freedom and rule of law.
“As judges, our responsibilities are heavy and are always subjected to baseless criticisms and insults.
“But we have to know that we can’t stop anyone from making comments about the courts’ decision,” she said.
She called on the judges to be aware that “justice should not only be done, but it should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done”.
During the ceremony, High Court judges Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Nantha Balan E.S. Moorthy were appointed as Court of Appeal judges.
Also appointed as High Court judges were Datuk Seri Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah and Datuk Azmi Abdullah, who were both judicial commissioners.