PUTRAJAYA, Jan 13 ― Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Arifin Zakaria said today that a successor to replace him when he retires in a few months' time has already been identified.

Arifin said the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has already made its decision on his successor, who is still unnamed.

"Yes, already identified, thing have already been approved by JAC and it has gone to the relevant authority, so it's a matter of time.

"But of course I can't announce who is going to take over from me, breach of secrecy,” he told reporters here after the opening of the 2017 legal year.

Arifin was due to retire by the end of last September, but he had confirmed that same month that his term will be extended by six months until this April.

Arifin, who was born on October 1, 1950, has been the Chief Justice of Malaysia since his appointment on September 12, 2011. He had held a variety of positions in the courts, becoming a High Court judge in 1994 before going on to be a judge in the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in 2002 and 2005 respectively. Prior to becoming Chief Justice, Arifin was Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya in 2008. Last September, Arifin confirmed that two other senior judges will also be staying on for another six months after their initial retirement dates. Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya were initially due to retire when they hit the mandatory retirement age of 66 this February 4 and March 28 respectively.