KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Prominent lawyer Datuk Wong Kian Kheong was today appointed and sworn in as a Judicial Commissioner at the Palace of Justice.

Wong made the news many times in recent years for a plethora of cases but is most significantly known as the lawyer who led former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s successful defence in a cheating case over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

Wong, who before today’s appointment was running his own firm, had previously also acted as a prosecutor for the government.

A judicial commissioner holds the post on a renewable two-year contract basis, with such officers also having the opportunity to eventually join the judiciary as judges.

Today, six others with vast experience in the legal field were appointed as Judicial Commissioners, including the Federal Court’s chief registrar Datuk Azimah Omar and the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ Datuk Nordin Hassan and Noorin Badarudin.

The Prime Minister’s Department’s board of advisers chairman Datuk Mat Zara’ai Alias, Kedah legal advisor Datuk Azmi Ariffin and senior lawyer Colin Lawrence Sequerah were also appointed today.

The appointment of the seven was witnessed by the country’s Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, the Chief Justice of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and the Court of Appeal’s president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif.