KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): As Tan Sri Hasnah Mohamed Hashim is slated to retire as Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM) at the end of this week, two names have emerged on the shortlist to replace her, and both of them are former Federal Court registrars.

One name that keeps surfacing is current Federal Court judge and former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh.

Ahmad Terrirudin was a Federal Court registrar before his ascension as solicitor general, and then the AG, before assuming the mantle of a Federal Court judge in November last year.

The other candidate is understood to be Court of Appeal (COA) judge Datuk Hashim Hamzah, who is also formerly a Federal Court registrar.

Despite being an appellate court judge, Hashim could bypass others more senior candidates, just as Chief Justice (CJ) Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh had done when ascending from the Court of Appeal to be the country’s top judge on July 25th.

Sources have indicated that both names are on the shortlist of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to replace Hasnah.

However, sources familiar with the matter have indicated to The Edge that the JAC has been asked to also submit two additional names to the government.

The present batch of Federal Court judges includes Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Rhodzhariah Bujang, Datuk Nordin Hassan, Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Ahmad Terrirudin and Datuk Lee Swee Seng.

Hanipah is due to retire along with Hasnah later this month, while Nallini, who entered her six-month extension in August, is slated to retire in February next year.

Besides this, there is already a vacant post in the apex court following Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof’s retirement last month.

Hence, that leaves the possibility that Nordin, Vazeer Alam and Lee’s names could be proposed from the Federal Court bench.

It is understood that Noordin and Vazeer Alam’s names had been proposed for an ascension to the top-three posts of the judiciary, but the duo had not made the cut at the time.

Judges face a constitutionally-mandated retirement when they turn 66,  but their term can be extended for a maximum of six months, as provided for under Article 125 of the Federal Constitution.

However, the immediate-past CJ Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and the immediate-past Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim both retired in July without having their tenures extended.

Certain quarters in the legal fraternity have raised the question as to whether Ahmad Terrirudin should even be on the shortlist, as it is understood that Hasnah has appointed him as the managing judge to oversee the Kuala Lumpur courts just before she retires.

Normally, the appointment as managing judge of the KL courts is preferred to the senior-most Federal Court judges. It is worth noting that Ahmad Terrirudin formally entered the judicial circle, directly into the Federal Court level, last November, where he was previously the AG.

Besides being a former Sessions Court judge, it is understood that Ahmad Terrirudin has never served as a judge at the High Court or COA, and his only senior appointment besides being solicitor general and then AG was as the Federal Court registrar.

It is to be noted that Ahmad Terrirudin’s name was also cited by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for contempt — for allegedly not disclosing the existence of the addendum for the former prime minister to be placed under house arrest.

Although the contempt application has been dismissed by High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has indicated they would appeal.

As with before, this raises the question of whether Ahmad Terrirudin would be the right candidate to fill the third-most senior post in the judiciary as CJM, with possible ongoing proceedings against him on appeal at the COA and the proceedings over the addendum still pending.

In order to be appointed CJM, a candidate would have to get the go-ahead from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as well as Yang di Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar and the Conference of Rulers.

Only time will tell who will fill the CJM post. Prior to Hasnah’s appointment, the seat had been left vacant for nine months following the retirement of Tan Sri Zabidin Md Diah.

One of Hasnah’s last decisions will be the Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd’s appeal over the ‘Duta enclave’ this Thursday, where she is chairing a three-member bench that includes Hanipah and COA judge Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali.

Read also:
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Constitutional property rights at stake in Semantan Estate appeal, lawyer argues