KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum today declined to comment on either his impending retirement or his replacement, pointing out that this was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s prerogative.
Asked if the government is under pressure to appoint a Malay-Muslim as the next chief justice given the current political climate, Malanjum said such judicial appointments are by the country’s ruler.
“That is the prerogative of Tuanku, the King. Appointment of judges by the King... So I don’t think I have the liberty to say anything,” he told reporters when met at Universiti Malaya.
He declined to comment when asked if his tenure would be extended or if a successor has been identified.
Malanjum turned 66 years of age last October 13, and is currently serving a six-month extension allowed under the Federal Constitution until early next month.
When asked if the upcoming retirement of the top four judges would affect the judiciary, Malanjum said there are currently “more than enough” judges in the superior courts and that new judges are being appointed.
As of March 1, the Judicial Appointments Commission’s website states that there are 121 judges (inclusive of judicial commissioners) at the High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court, with 32 vacancies for judges.
Malanjum was at UM for the launch of the university’s emeritus professor Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi’s latest book on the Federal Constitution named, Our Constitution.
At the same event, Malanjum said he hoped that judges will keep the Federal Constitution alive.
“The biggest challenge for us judges is to keep in mind all the time that the basic foundation of the Constitution is the rule of law, not rule by law,” he said.
“I think that’s very important for us to remember, and that’s how we keep democracy alive in this country.”
Malanjum also spoke of a “courtroom-to-classroom” initiative that the judiciary will embark on soon, where students in primary schools and secondary schools will learn about the country’s legal and justice system.
“Otherwise, our students may grow up not knowing the basic rights they have under the law,” he said.
Earlier when speaking about the book, Shad Saleem said he hoped that it would help to improve constitutional literacy in the country.
“It is with sadness that we note that 61 years into independence, our Constitution has not yet become the chart and compass, the sail and anchor of our nation’s endeavour,” he said.
He said there are other ongoing efforts to improve knowledge about the Federal Constitution including regular public lectures, regular radio programmes and a newspaper column.
Constitutional awareness efforts will also be expanded to the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) where civil servants are trained and to the Foreign Ministry, with a module on constitutional law also expected to be introduced in secondary schools, he said.
Shad Saleem’s book covers issues such as the Federal Constitution’s main characteristics, citizenship, the electoral process, the judiciary, pre-Merdeka ethnic compromises and the future of the Constitution.
He said the country’s forefathers had crafted a remarkable Constitution that is a “masterpiece of accommodation, moderation, compassion and compromise” despite all its flaws.
“Even its ethnic provisions, there was a great deal of moderation and compromise. The ethnic provisions were carefully crafted to avoid the kind of ideological zeal and extremism that had left a heritage of bitterness in many divided societies,” he said, lauding the country’s founding leaders as having created conditions for peace.
“Our Constitution has in many respects seemingly reconciled the irreconcilable conflict of interest between ethnic and religious groups in a way that has few parallels in Asia and Africa,” he said.
In describing the book, Shad Saleem said that the book is actually a “simple, sympathetic and admiring introduction to the Federal Constitution for students, civil servants and members of the public”.
The book is available for sale at RM50 at bookstores Marsden Law Books, Joshua Legal Art Gallery, Kinokuniya and MPH, or via Sweet & Maxwell Asia’s website.
