PUTRAJAYA (July 28): Newly minted President of the Court of Appeal Datuk Abu Bakar Jais said he understands the heavy responsibility that he has to shoulder as the number two in the judiciary, and his immediate task is to form 10 different Court of Appeal panels to hear and deal with the possible backlog of cases.

When met at after his elevation at the Palace of Justice on Monday, Abu Bakar, 63, said that the position is a huge responsibility for him to shoulder, and he understood the general public’s expectations and would do his duty without fear or favour.

“I understand the huge responsibility that the general public have entrusted in the judiciary, especially as we live in a multi-religious and multi-racial society and it is not possible to satisfy everyone.

“There is a lot of pressure, and I intend to rely on my fellow brother and sister judges to handle the cases,” he said.

As the Court of Appeal is the final venue of appeal for the lower court cases, Abu Bakar said the additional six newly elevated Court of Appeal judges would give him more options when empanelling them.

He said that with 32 judges, the appellate court currently has the maximum number of positions filled, but only briefly, as two judges would be retiring soon.

“Presently, the appellate court could empanel eight panels, and my immediate task is to empanel 10 panels to hear and preside in appeals.

“Hopefully, this would help clear the backlog of cases which is pending,” he said.

Abu Bakar was a former deputy public prosecutor and a federal counsel before entering into private practice. He was appointed as a judicial commissioner in 2013 and was confirmed in 2016.

He was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2019, and was elevated to the Federal Court in 2023, before being appointed as the Court of Appeal President.

The Court of Appeal is the final venue for cases that originate from the Magistrate’s Court and the Sessions Court, while also hearing appeals that originate from the High Court.

The final appeals for the High Court are at the Federal Court.

The six judges who have been elevated from the High Court to the Court of Appeal are Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman, Datin Paduka Evrol Marriette Peters, Ong Chee Kwan, Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, Leonard David Shim, and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi is thankful for being the first female CJSS, and expressed her gratitude to God for being chosen.

“I did not expect to be appointed for the post despite being from Sibu, Sarawak. Alhamdulillah (Thank God) for the court and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for entrusting me with this post,” she said.

When asked about meeting the pressure of the job, Azizah said she has been working under pressure since her days at the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).

“This is part and parcel (of the job). I will continue to do the good job done by my predecessors and do the best that I can in my new role,” she added.

Prior to this, Azizah had been a New Zealand High Court barrister, and had served as a magistrate in Kuching and Miri, as well as served as a special officer to the CJSS in the mid-1990s.

She then joined the AGC and was a senior federal counsel and headed the Civil Division of the AGC before being appointed a judicial commissioner in 2012, and confirmed as a High Court judge in 2014.

Azizah was then elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2019, and was elevated to the Federal Court and appointed as the new CJSS on Monday.

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