HAILED by many in the legal fraternity as one of Malaysia’s bravest judges in recent times, justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus will launch his book, Hishamudin Yunus: Celebrating Judicial Independence, today.

The book, a compilation of 29 contributors’ commentaries, is on Hishamudin’s judgments throughout his 23-year career.

Hishamudin, who has written some 700 judgments, was never elevated to the Federal Court despite being recommended by the Judicial Appointments Committee in 2013.

In an interview in 2015, Hishamudin said then prime minister Najib Razak blocked the promotion.

Hishamudin, who joined the Bench in 1994, is from Negri Sembilan.

After graduating from the London School of Political Science, University of London, with a law degree and obtaining a postgraduate degree in law from the London School of Economics, Hishamudin joined the Bench as a magistrate in Kuala Lumpur.

After stints with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and Selangor government, Hishamudin was appointed judicial commissioner in 1992 and a high court judge in 1994. He was subsequently promoted to the Court of Appeals in April 2009.

During his years as a judge, Hishamudin was known for his integrity, fearless independence and for being committed to the supremacy of the federal constitution.

Among the landmark cases Hishamudin presided over was in Abdul Ghani Haron v IGP.

In the case involving the Internal Security Act, Hishamudin held that an applicant for habeas corpus had the right to be present in court during proceedings. 

Although the ruling was subsequently overruled by the Federal Court, the case saw a number of arguments, such as if there were allegations of torture or custodial death, the only way to establish the facts is to produce the detainee in court.

Another controversial argument was that the discretion of the police to arrest was not absolute and judicial review of executive discretion is possible if the reasons for the arrest were not given or there is bad faith on the part of the police.

Third, Hishamuddin ruled that the police can also be restrained from re-arresting a detainee after the latter’s release.

In another case involving cross dressing (Muhamad Juzaili, 2015), Hishamudin again showed his commitment to the constitution when he ruled that Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan state enactment that penalises men who dress like women, but does not impose similar punishment on women, was a violation of the doctrine of equality.

On free speech, Hishamudin and Linton Albert held that Section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act, which stopped students from expressing support or sympathy for any political party was contrary to Article 10 (freedom of expression) in the federal constitution.

His bravery was not restricted to matters of civil liberties involving the government. In shariah cases, he stood out when others have surrendered jurisdiction to the shariah courts.

In the Kadar Shah Tun Sulaiman case in 2008, he ruled that a trust, even if it was between Muslims, was subject to federal jurisdiction. And in the Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah case in 2012, he held that the constitutionality of conversions that involved fundamental rights under Articles 11 and 12 were within the high court’s jurisdiction.

Hishamudin was appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission and Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) in September. – November 8, 2018.