Malaysia on Friday named Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its new chief justice, ending weeks of uncertainty over the country’s top judicial post. However, his past political ties, including to former prime minister Najib Razak, have raised concerns about judicial independence.
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The Court of Appeal judge was named Malaysia’s 11th chief justice in a government statement released just after midnight, alongside Abu Bakar Jais as president of the Court of Appeal and Azizah Nawawi as chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, filling three of the judiciary’s most senior vacancies.
Their appointments follow a Wednesday meeting of the Conference of Rulers, a council of state sultans and governors whose role is to scrutinise the nominations.
The delay in filling the top posts had plunged Malaysia’s judiciary into a crisis and triggered a rare protest march by nearly a thousand lawyers urging Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government to stop interfering in judicial matters.
“The ceremony of presenting the letters of appointment and taking and signing the oath of office and allegiance before the king will be held on July 28 at the Istana Negara,” said the statement from the chief registrar of the Federal Court.
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