The Malaysian Judiciary
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THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY YEARBOOK 2011 JD003850 T.page.indd 1 4/8/12 4:33:57 PM Cover Drawing : “The Power Of Justice” by Jimmy Khalil JD003850 T.page.indd 2 4/8/12 4:33:57 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY YEARBOOK 2011 JD003850 T.page.indd 3 4/8/12 4:33:57 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY iv Yearbook 2011 Yearbook 2011 Contents FOREWORD vii PREFACE x Chapter 1 THE JUDICIARY – SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 2011 1 A (a) Appointment of the New Chief Justice 2 (b) Appointment of the New President of the Court of Appeal 4 (c) Appointment of the New Chief Judge of Malaya 7 B Opening of the Legal Year 2011 8 Chapter 2 PROJECTIONS AND PERFORMANCE OF 17 THE MALAYSIAN COURTS – 2011 A (a) The Federal Court 18 (b) The Court Appeal 25 (c) The High Court of Malaya 36 - Reports from the Managing Judges 38 (d) The High Court of Sabah & Sarawak 73 Chapter 3 Resources 81 (a) The Federal Court Library 83 (b) The Information Technology Division 87 Chapter 4 INITIATIVES 93 (a) The Setting Up of the Judicial Academy 95 (b) The (Combined) Rules of Court 2012 99 (c) Revitalising Malaysian Admiralty Law 105 (d) Court Annexed Mediation 108 (e) The Judicial Museum 113 (f) A Special Mobile Court Sitting in Sabah and Sarawak 116 JD003850 T.page.indd 4 4/8/12 4:33:58 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY Yearbook 2011 Yearbook 2011 v Chapter 5 RETIRED JUDGES 121 A (i) Tun Zaki Tun Azmi (ii) Tan Sri Alauddin Dato’ Mohd Sheriff (iii) Tengku Dato’ Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud (iv) Puan Zura Yahya (v) Dato’ Ho Mooi Ching (vi) Dato’ Kang Hwee Gee (vii) Dato’ Heliliah Mohd Yusof B Tun Zaki Azmi’s Farewell 126 Chapter 6 CASES OF INTEREST 2011 131 Civil Cases 133 Criminal Cases 140 Chapter 7 JUDICIAL INSIGHTS 147 (a) The Judicial Appointments Commission As I See It 148 Tun Abdul Hamid Haji Mohamad (b) From the Private to the Public Sector – My Impressions 152 Tun Zaki Tun Azmi (c) Appearance In Court of Retired Judges of the Superior Courts : 156 Should They? Dato’ V.C. George (d) Of Enticing and Enticed Married Women 160 Justice Dr. Badariah Sahamid (e) Judicial Activism - The Way To Go? 166 Justice Mohd Hishamudin Yunus (f) Access to Justice - The Malaysian Experience 178 Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim JD003850 T.page.indd 5 4/8/12 4:33:58 PM The Right Honourable Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria Chief Justice of Malaysia JD003850 T.page.indd 6 4/8/12 4:33:59 PM vii Foreword The Right Honourable Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria Chief Justice of Malaysia t gives me great pleasure in for the High court, all new civil cases welcoming the publication of the will be disposed within 9 months and Malaysian Judiciary Yearbook 2011. the criminal cases within 12 months I If the previous Judicial Journal had from the date of filing. Thus, we now espoused a more historical approach, this have a yardstick by which cases can be Yearbook will take on a different, more resolved. robust outlook. Apart from providing a report on the statistics of cases disposed As we now live in an age of and initiatives taken to improve judicial accountability, it is incumbent upon governance, this Yearbook also holds a us to be willing to change and respond spectrum of views on certain issues from accordingly. We need to continue to re- former and sitting judges. I believe this evaluate our old routines and revisit and would make for a stimulating read. update them, since we all know that the path to justice is not always self- The year 2011 witnessed the continuing evident. transformation of the judicial landscape, with the introduction of some new measures However, one thing is certain; that to enhance the judicial delivery system in all of this, there is no respite from and the quality of court decisions and hard work. But I believe that as long as judgments. we are conscious that enhanced judicial output does not run counter to our sense I am happy that our practical and of justice and fairness, we will continue uninhibited application of methods in in our quest to improve the system. dealing with our backlog reduction programme has inspired high praise from In this regard, I am pleased that the World Bank. we are in the midst of putting in place a continuing judicial training program along In fact our model has been the lines of the judicial training academies recommended by the World Bank for or institutes found in other jurisdictions. adoption by other judiciaries dealing with This program will encompass the training similar problems. of judges in various dimensions of judgeship and judge-craft. In this connection may In developing our own system of I congratulate and thank Justice James case disposal, we have managed to finally Foong for having comprehensively outlined eliminate our age-old affliction (i.e. the a judges training programme which will in backlog of cases) in which by the end of no small way, form part of the blueprint March 2012, cases in the subordinate of our Judicial Academy. courts will all be current. This means that as of now, all new cases filed in these In keeping with our trend towards courts will be disposed within 6 months greater openness and public knowledge of from the date of filing. In the same way, our judicial institution, we are serious in JD003850 T.page.indd 7 4/8/12 4:33:59 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY viii Yearbook 2011 Yearbook 2011 using mediation as a means of resolving We shall therefore continue our efforts disputes between parties. The utility of to improve the system with renewed this device is fast gaining popularity in dedication and to uphold the highest our courts, due to the persuasive and standards of service and efficiency in the communicative skills of our judges who administration of justice. More importantly could successfully find common grounds I take this opportunity to reaffirm our upon which parties can agree to sort out commitment to the Rule of Law and their differences. the principle of the independence of the judiciary. To improve our service to the public and stakeholders, the Rules Committee has In the final analysis, our achievements put up a commendable set of combined could not have been attained without the rules, which will simplify the procedure sacrifice and hard work put in by each and of trials in both the Subordinate and every member of our court staff, officers Superior Courts. We strongly believe that and judges at all levels, including the this will undoubtedly enable justice to cooperation rendered us by officers from be made accessible to a greater number the Attorney General’s Chambers and of people. The proposal may have a members of the Bar. My gratitude to all superficial attraction, but we are of them is heartfelt. convinced that in the long term, it I would also like to express my will greatly impact the entire judicial appreciation to all the contributors who system. have unhesitatingly responded to our By the same token, we are actively request to pen their thoughts for this revitalising our maritime legal regime. publication. Although we have a respectable series My appreciation also goes to Puan of legal digests, rules and laws which Hamidah Abdul Rahman and Encik form an integral part of the maritime Shaharin Amran who put in time in legal framework, we lack our own corpus ensuring that the photographic content of of case law. At the moment we look to this publication is creatively executed. I am precedents handed down by the courts also appreciative of the fine drawings on in the United Kingdom, being part of the cover and portraits of the contributors the lineage which identifies us with the by artist Mr. Muhammad Nur Hazimi great history of the common law. However Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khalil (Jimmy an urgent review and promulgation of a Khalil). consolidated and comprehensive domestic legal regime is needed, which will enable On a final note, I wish to express my our courts to adjudicate admiralty and appreciation to the Yearbook Committee maritime disputes efficaciously. led by Justice Zainun Ali, together with Justice Alizatul Khair Osman The establishment of the Admiralty Khairuddin, Justice Azahar Mohamed, Court in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 is therefore Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim, a step in the right direction in determining Justice Lim Yee Lan, Justice Nallini our own destiny in this regard. Pathmanathan, Justice Dr. Badariah JD003850 T.page.indd 8 4/8/12 4:33:59 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY Yearbook 2011 Yearbook 2011 ix Sahamid, Justice Mah Weng Kwai, Isma Ahmad Refngah, Husna Dzulkifly, and the Chief Registrar Dato’ Hashim Mohd. Aizuddin Zolkeply, Sabreena Hamzah, officers, Dato’ Che Mohd Bakar @ Bahari, Shazali Dato’ Hidayat Ruzima Ghazali, Azhahari Kamal Shariff, Safarudin Tambi and Mohd. Ramli, Chan Jit Li, Nor Hazani Zulhilmi Ibrahim, who, in collaboration Hamzah, Nurul Husna Awang, Mohd. with Sweet and Maxwell (Asia) Sabri Othman, Mohd. Faizi Che Abu, represented by Ms. Rachel Jaques, Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar, Fadzilatul spared no effort in ensuring that this publication reflects the pride we take in what we do in the Judiciary. JD003850 T.page.indd 9 4/8/12 4:33:59 PM THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY THE MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY x Yearbook 2011 Yearbook 2011 Preface f the preceding three years of judicial The changing of the guards, so to governance have been turbulent, speak, calls for a change in the tone and the lull which must come after the tenor of this publication.