PUTRAJAYA, Feb 6 — Federal Court judge Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan today received accolades and tributes from lawyers and even the Chief Justice of Malaysia, just slightly more than two weeks before her retirement at the age of 66 years and six months.

Nallini is the first Malaysian Indian woman to be a Federal Court judge.

She is also the most senior of all currently-serving Federal Court judges in terms of her tenure or number of years at the country’s highest court.

After Nallini delivered the Federal Court’s landmark decision today in activist Heidy Quah’s constitutional case regarding offensive online remarks, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan stood up to note that this will be one of her last judgments before she retires.

Shamsul said Nallini had made “many major contributions” to the development of Malaysia’s law in a number of areas, particularly in public and administrative law.

“Her Ladyship is one of the towering figures in constitutional interpretation who has profoundly shaped the legal understanding on some fundamental aspect of our Constitution,” he said when addressing a panel of five judges including Nallini.

Since Nallini became a Federal Court judge in 2018, Shamsul said he and his colleague, senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin had appeared in many cases before her: “We have witnessed, at first hand, Her Ladyship’s extraordinary wisdom and her capacity for hard work and attention to detail.”

“On behalf of the Attorney General’s Chambers, we would like to express our utmost gratitude to Her Ladyship for her contribution to the law through her long, distinguished judicial career,” Shamsul said.

Lawyer K. Shanmuga, who represented the Malaysian Bar as amicus curiae in this case, then stood up and agreed with the AGC’s “sentiments” which Shamsul had expressed.

On behalf of the Malaysian Bar, Shanmuga said they were “particularly proud” that Nallini was originally from the Bar — alluding to how she had been a lawyer before joining the judiciary as a judicial commissioner at the High Court in 2007.

He said it was a testament to Nallini’s dedication “that she has survived so long in the judiciary with so many landmark judgments”. 

Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, another lawyer in this court case, said that watching Nallini’s “progression from the High Court to the Federal Court has been nothing short of an amazing experience”: “In particular, the last years My Lady spent on the Federal Court, the indelible impression that My Lady has left on constitutional law in this country.

“From all of us, thank you for your service to the nation,” he said in court.

Later when met outside the court, Imtiaz said Nallini has “done the nation a great service, not just this decision but other decisions that she was a party to”.

Referring to today’s decision delivered by Nallini, Imtiaz told reporters: “And what she’s provided in her own way, a guideline for how we should be conducting ourselves, moving into the future, and I think in terms of the constitutional law she’s expressed in the judgment along with other judges, that would provide invaluable guidance for the future and help us through troubled times. So we will miss her.”

Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, who was also acting as amicus curiae in the same case, said it was “very inspirational” to junior lawyers to see how Nallini had developed the law, especially in constitutional law.

“My Lady has really moved the needle in that respect. We wish to place our gratitude,” he told the Federal Court.

Benjamin John Dawson, another lawyer in this case, agreed with what the other lawyers said: “I think the word that stands out most is that, once in many years — a towering figure from the Bench, and I think My Lady will quite easily fit within that category and will always be remembered as setting a very high standard for the Bench, most notably in the area of development of constitutional jurisprudence.”

“We are most grateful from the legal profession and also from the nation, thank you very much, My Lady,” he said.

After listening to all the accolades, Nallini thanked all the lawyers: “That was most moving, makes one feel quite emotional... Thank you so much, those words are far too kind, really it makes me extremely happy to hear that coming to the end of my tenure.”

She also thanked all of the lawyers from the Malaysian Bar and the AGC for their contributions, as she said none of the judgments could have been written without their input.

“Generally, it has been quite wonderful. It has been an absolute privilege to serve the nation. It’s something I will miss, but it’s very kind of you to confer such praise quite unconditionally. Thank you so much. I’m most grateful,” she said.

Chief Justice of Malaysia Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who chaired the five-judge panel that Nallini was sitting on, then said the other judges also agree with what the lawyers said, and agreed or “concur that Justice Nallini is a great jurist”.