KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha and the widow of former Court of Appeal (COA) judge Datuk NH Chan, Datin Ann Chan, have been included in the originating summons filed by 33 ex-senior judges and their dependents against the government and Cabinet ministers over their pension scheme.

The two names were added as plaintiffs and allowed by High Court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh when the matter was called up for case management on Wednesday (April 5).

Tan retired as a Federal Court judge in 2015 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 66 years and six months. He was reappointed on July 1, 2016 and retired again two years later.

Meanwhile, NH was famous for quoting William Shakespeare's Hamlet that "All is not well in the House of Denmark" when he described possible judicial corruption in the Ayer Molek Rubber Co Bhd vs Insas Bhd case, as the civil and commercial courts used to be housed at Wisma Denmark in the 1990s and early 2000s.

NH, whose full name was Chan Nyarn Hoi, passed away in 2016 at the age of 81.

The entrants of the two as plaintiffs via an oral application on Wednesday, were confirmed by counsel Chris Leong to The Edge. This follows the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) not objecting to the application.

Leong also revealed that there has been no settlement to the ex-judges’ case against the government, and that Wan Ahmad Farid has fixed further case management on June 19 for the AGC to get instructions regarding a possible settlement.

He said Wan Ahmad Farid will fix a date thereafter for the government to file its affidavit in reply if there is no progress by the next case management.

Last July, the ex-judges handed in a proposal to settle the dispute. They filed the originating summons in January 2022.

In October last year, the government indicated it needed more time to consider settling the suit.

Suit filed after government failed to raise pension in line with Judge's Remuneration Act

In January 2022, a former COA president, two former chief judges of Malaya, and several former Federal Court, COA, and High Court judges were among 28 individuals and seven dependents of former judges that took the government, the prime minister, the Cabinet, and the director general of the Public Service Department to court over adjustments to their pension.

They filed the originating summons in the High Court over the government’s failure to implement an appropriate percentage of adjustment higher than 2% annually to their pension and other benefits pursuant to Section 15B(2) of the Judges’ Remuneration Act 1971.

In the originating summons, the former judges claimed that the increment should have been implemented on July 1, 2015.

They are claiming through their lawyers from Messrs Chooi & Company + Cheang & Ariff that the adjustment is a violation of Article 125(7), read together with Article 125(9) of the Federal Constitution.

Article 125(7) stipulates that the remuneration and other terms of office (including pension rights) of judges of the Federal Court shall not be altered to their disadvantage after their appointment.

Among others, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the gazette for the higher percentage of adjustment of 2% annually to their pension and other benefits had been altered to their disadvantage.

Among the 28 judges are former COA president Tan Sri Alauddin Md Sheriff, and former chief judges of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Nor and Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob.

Others include Datuk Pajan Singh Gill, Tan Sri Sulong Matjeraie, Datuk Azmel Maamor, Datuk Mahadev Shankar, Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus, Datuk Seri Shaik Daud Ismail, Datuk Clement Allan Skinner, Datuk Abdul Malik Ishak, Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Tan Sri VC George, and Datuk Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad.

Mohamad Ariff is a former COA judge and former Dewan Rakyat speaker.

The dependents include the wife of the late former COA president Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad, as well as dependents of former Federal Court judges Datuk Hashim Che Yusoff and Datuk Mohd Noor Ahmad, and former COA judges Datuk KC Vohrah and Datuk Vincent Ng Kim Khoay.