KUALA LUMPUR. Malaysia, 30 June 2025– The Chief Justice of Malaysia, YAA Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, is set to retire mandatorily on 1 July 2025, followed by the President of the Court of Appeal, YAA Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, on 2 July 2025. Within the subsequent six months, five more Federal Court judges will also retire, resulting in more than half of the nation’s highest court judges being vacant.
The retiring judges include YAA Tan Sri Hasnah Dato’ Mohammed Hashim (14 November 2025), YAA Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Rahman Sebli (July 2025), YA Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan (22 August 2025), YA Dato’ Zabariah Mohd Yusof (10 October 2025), and YA Datuk Hanipah Farikullah (22 November 2025). Four of these judges had previously received a six-month service extension.
According to Pandan Member of Parliament Rafizi Ramli, these vacancies could delay court proceedings, impacting the administration of justice at all levels. He supports the proposal by some lawyers to grant YAA Tun Tengku Maimun and YAA Tan Sri Abang Iskandar a six-month service extension, as was done for other judges, to prevent disruptions to the judicial system.
Rafizi emphasized that these concerns are not political but based on practical needs. He stated that failing to extend the service of these two senior judges could create perceptions of a “double standard,” especially when extensions were granted to other judges. This, he said, could worsen the ongoing controversy surrounding judicial independence.
He also questioned the direct appointment of a judge to the Federal Court as a potential successor, which may bypass the seniority list of existing judges. Rafizi expressed concern that this appointment, combined with other issues such as the repeated extensions of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki, and the non-appointment of Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ayob Khan as the new Inspector-General of Police, could fuel speculation of interference in key institutions.
As a former Minister of Economy and a long-time advocate for judicial independence through KEADILAN and Pakatan Harapan, Rafizi urged Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to address this issue transparently. He warned that failure to do so could undermine public confidence in the judiciary and potentially spark dissatisfaction among the younger generation toward the government.
Rafizi recalled his political awakening following the dismissal of Tun Salleh Abas as Chief Justice in 1988, which shaped his early political awareness. He stressed that KEADILAN and Pakatan Harapan must not be seen as weakening the institutions they have long fought to protect.