After weeks of criticisms, including lawmakers from Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s own party, as well as a mass protest from more than a thousand lawyers over transparency in judicial appointments, the country finally has named Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its new Chief Justice. As expected, Anwar quickly cried innocence to hoodwink gullible blind supporters.
The PM claimed the appointment of Wan Ahmad has cleared him of any interference claims, including speculation that former Attorney General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh was short-listed for the role. “The complaints and grievances that were hurled at me for weeks, the criticisms, the slander, but now, it turns out that those claims were completely off the mark,” – bragged Anwar Ibrahim.
Yet, he can’t explain what took him so long to announce the appointment of Wan Ahmad, or to deny the candidacy of Terrirudin, if indeed there was no hanky-panky or interference from the government to influence – even to broker – a new chief justice who will obediently take orders from the executive branch. His excuse for the delay is that the appointments process required the consent of the King.
“I receive the names from the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), evaluate them, submit them to the King, and upon His Majesty’s approval, they are discussed at the Conference of Rulers. Only after I meet with the Rulers to provide an explanation, and the King gives his consent, can I respond,” – argued the premier. But this lame remark raises more questions than answers.
Was PM Anwar trying to blame the Malay Rulers for dragging their feet in delaying the naming of a new Chief Justice after months of vacuum – judiciary without its chief – before the fearless Chief Justice Tengku Maimun binti Tuan Mat retired without the usual 6-month extension? Or did Anwar deliberately delay the evaluation process till the public pressure forced him to parachute Wan Ahmad?
Yes, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh was not even in the list of JAC. That explains why the lingering crisis over the top judicial appointment took a fresh twist on Thursday (July 17) when the three-day meeting of the Conference of Rulers ended without any announcement. The confirmation came only in the wee hours of July 18, leading to jokes about a “Midnight Chief Justice”.
Assuming Terrirudin’s name was not in the list, as proudly declared by the PM, then Anwar has to explain why Wan Farid is now the Chief Justice despite his name also not in the list. If both candidates were not in the JAC, then it only shows that the PM can bypass the list and appoint whoever he likes, which also proves that he had interfered, or knowingly allowed partner UMNO to interfere in the judicial process, no?
Had Wan Ahmad’s name in the list of JAC, the nine Sultans and Malay Rulers would not have to scramble – and waste time – to make a decision because the profiling would be in order. And it was not a coincidence that the chaos erupted only after Anwar was forced to have two separate private meetings with Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan lawmakers at his residence, leading to the scrapping of Terrirudin.
Blaming the delay in naming the appointees on the lengthy appointment process is both laughable and ridiculous simply because this is not the first time Malaysia has to appoint its Chief Justice. Anwar talked as if Malaysia had just gotten its independence yesterday. Exactly why previous administrations had not experienced such delays, but only Anwar’s Madani government?
Connecting the dots, there were strong reasons to believe the speculation that Anwar was manoeuvring to fast-track 57-year-old Federal Court Judge Terrirudin Salleh for the top job of Chief Justice. The speculation was fuelled by the leak of classified minutes from a May meeting of the JAC – the body that recommends top judiciary posts to the prime minister – which suggested attempts at interference in judicial decisions.
Terrirudin was appointed directly to the apex court in 2024 while he was still serving as Mr Anwar’s attorney-general. He had in September 2023, during his first week as public prosecutor, decided not to appeal against former premier Najib Razak’s acquittal in the 1MDB audit-tampering case. Mr Terrirudin was eventually made a Federal Court judge in November 2024.
Crucially, Terrirudin will serve till 2033 if promoted again as Chief Justice, giving UMNO tonnes of time to work hand-in-glove with the tainted Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to free not only Najib Razak, but also to drop all charges related to UMNO politicians. When Terrirudin was first promoted in Sept 2024 by PM Anwar, it was to make him a member of the Pardons Board so that Najib could get his royal pardon.
Mr Anwar, desperately needed UMNO’s support to cling to power, hopes that allowing the Malay nationalist party to broker and control the judiciary would appease them so that Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional coalitions could still work together to form the next government after the 16th national polls, with Anwar getting his wish to serve his second term.
When Anwar said on Tuesday (July 15) that the Malay Rulers would be making the announcement on Wednesday (July 16), a move he hoped would “dispel negative perceptions” on the delay in the judiciary appointments and alleged political interference in the process, he was actually – in his typical cheap tactic – throwing the ball to the Monarchs to silence critics.
Uncertainty and speculation exploded after the Sultan of Selangor, who ranks as the most senior monarch in the Conference of Rulers and the chairman of the meeting, issued a statement urging the public not to speculate on the anticipated judicial appointments. The candidacy for the Chief Justice must be highly unusual for the sultan to issue such unusual warning.
So, when the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court announced shortly after midnight Friday that Wan Ahmad Farid and Abu Bakar Jais have been appointed as Chief Justice and President of the Court of Appeal, there was a surprise because both top new appointments were largely unexpected as both individuals were not among the candidates considered by JAC.
That means the candidates proposed in the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), a high-powered panel that nominates suitable judges for high office to the premier, had been ignored. From the beginning, Terrirudin was picked to take over from Tengku Maimun, with a hastily hatched Wan Ahmad Farid as Plan-B after PM Anwar panicked – facing a possible political coup that could prematurely end his 5-year term.
Under laws governing the appointment of top judges, the nine-member JAC – which was established in 2009 – proposes qualified jurists to the prime minister, who makes a final decision based on the recommendations. But when Anwar disregarded JAC, and made backroom deals with UMNO to appoint “yes-man” chief justice in order to cling to power, it sparked hostility with certain members of the PAC.
The fact that leaked confidential minutes of a JAC meeting in May alleged that Terrirudin’s conduct as a judge raised serious questions about his suitability for high office in the judiciary was the clearest proof that Anwar, despite his lies, had indeed interfered in the brokering of senior appointments of leadership in the judiciary. Otherwise, the JAC would not bother mentioning Terrirudin.
The JAC’s nine members – four of them have automatic membership due to their senior posts as judges (the Chief Justice, president of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Malaya, and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak), while the PM has the power to appoint the other five members, who must include a Federal Court judge, and four eminent legal individuals not tied to the executive or other public service.
Therefore, the prime minister is seen as having a majority vote on the picks by the JAC. It is this precise reason that Anwar has lied through his teeth when he claimed that he had never interfered in the judicial process. Furthermore, the appointment of the Chief Justice, even though must go through the Malay Rulers, has to be based on the advice of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Thanks to big-mouth apple-polisher Nazri Aziz, who revealed that Tun Maimun did not get her 6-month extension due to her speech at the “Opening of the Legal Year 2025” indicating potential or improper interference in the judicial appointment process, it’s now proven beyond reasonable doubt that serial liar Anwar has lied about not interfering in the judicial system.
However, the appointment of Wan Ahmad Farid as the new Chief Justice is equally toxic primarily because he was a former politician from UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), the same corrupt party now trying to free its former president and former prime minister – Najib Razak – from prison, after losing power in the May 2018 General Election.
Farid entered politics in the early 2000s, was appointed a Senator in 2005, and served as Deputy Home Minister in 2008 under former premier Abdullah Badawi. He contested the Terengganu by-election in 2009 but was defeated. He formally exited politics in 2013. After retiring from politics in 2013, he joined the judiciary and later served as a High Court judge.
His judicial career began with his appointment as a judicial commissioner on July 7, 2013, before being confirmed as a High Court judge on Mar 21, 2016. He was subsequently elevated to the Court of Appeal – the second-highest court after the Federal Court – on Dec 5, 2019. He holds the rare distinction of having served in all three branches of government.
Like it or not, his UMNO-DNA is the biggest fear that future court rulings would be favourable to corrupt UMNO leaders, especially Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor and other UMNO warlords. The new Chief Justice may recuse himself from some trials, but as the CEO of the Judiciary, he can certainly select “certain friendly judges” to hear certain high profile cases involving certain powerful politicians linked to the government.
Interestingly, even though Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim of Johor on Friday officially consented to the promotion of two judges nominated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, there was widespread speculation among lawyers and retired jurists that the Conference of Rulers had come to some agreement – even deals – on the appointment of candidates proposed by the premier.
It is both naive and premature to conclude that the latest appointments will restore public confidence in the judiciary. Wan Ahmad Farid – due to his previous affiliation as an UMNO politician – will be constantly compared to the outstanding record of his successor, the highly respected Tun Tengku Maimun. Make no mistake – Terrirudin didn’t get the job because of public anger, not because Anwar did not interfere.
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July 20th, 2025 by financetwitter
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