The chief justice of Malaysia (Malay: Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia; Jawi: ), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and prior to this it was known as the lord president of the Federal Court. The chief justice is the head of the Federal Court, the apex court of Malaysia. It is the highest position in Malaysian judicial system followed by the president of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia, chief judge of Malaya, and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.
The position is currently held by Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who was sworn into the office on 28 July 2025.
Constitutional basis The office of chief justice of the Federal Court is established under Article 122 of the Constitution of Malaysia, which establishes the then-Supreme Court (now Federal Court) as consisting of a lord president (now chief justice), the chief judges of the High Courts and at least four other judges and such additional judges as may be appointed pursuant to Clause (1A).
Role The chief justice is first among equals among the judges of the Federal Court, and the position differs little from that of the other judges. All judges, including the chief justice, are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia), on the advice of the prime minister of Malaysia. Under Article 125 of the Malaysian Constitution, they can be removed only by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on a recommendation from a tribunal consisting of at least five judges who are current or former Federal Court judges. Reasons for removal include the chief justice: not following the Judges’ Code of Ethics; or being physically or mentally unable to carry out his or her duties.
The prime minister will then provide the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the reason(s) why the chief justice should be removed. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will then proceed to set up the tribunal to make a decision.
Chief justices of Malaysia
As of a total of 10 chief justices were appointed, listed below: #PortraitChief Justice (birth–death)Term of officeMonarch Prior senior judicial officesTook officeLeft officeTime in office 1Abdul Hamid Omar10 November 198824 September 1994Iskandar Azlan Shah Ja'afar2Mohd Eusoff Chin25 September 199419 December 2000Ja'afar SalahuddinChief Judge of Malaya (1994)3Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah20 December 200014 March 2003Salahuddin Sirajuddin4Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim16 March 200331 October 2007Sirajuddin Mizan Zainal AbidinJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (1989-1995) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (1995-2000) Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2000-2001) Chief Judge of Malaya (2001–2002) President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2003) 5Abdul Hamid Mohamad2 November 200718 October 2008Mizan Zainal AbidinPresident of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007)6Zaki Azmi18 October 20089 September 2011Mizan Zainal AbidinJudge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2007) President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2007–2008)7Arifin Zakaria12 September 201131 March 2017Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim Muhammad VJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (1994-2002) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005) Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2008) Chief Judge of Malaya (2008–2011)8Md Raus Sharif1 April 201710 July 2018Muhammad VJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (1996-2006) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2006-2011) President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2011–2017)9Richard Malanjum11 July 201812 April 2019Muhammad V AbdullahJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (2004-2006) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2002-2005) Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2005-2006) Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (2006–2018)10Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat2 May 20192 July 2025Abdullah Ibrahim IskandarJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (2007–2013) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2013–2018) Judge of the Federal Court of Malaysia (2018–2019)11 Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh28 July 2025IncumbentIbrahim IskandarJudge of the High Court of Malaysia (2019–2024) Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (2024–2025)
Living former chief justices Name Term of office Date of birthAhmad Fairuz Abdul Halim 2003–2007 1 November 1941 (age )Zaki Azmi 2008–2011 12 September 1945 (age )Arifin Zakaria 2011–2017 1 October 1950 (age )Mohamed Raus Sharif 2017–2018 4 February 1951 (age )Richard Malanjum 2018–2019 13 October 1952 (age )Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat 2019–2025 2 July 1959 (age )
See also Courts of Malaysia 2007 Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip
References