JUDGES, in all circumstances, must be faithful to the Federal Constitution and be resolute in upholding the rule of law, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said.

She mentioned this during her speech at the reference proceedings held today to honour the memory of former lord president, the late Mohamed Salleh Abas. 

She said the year 1988 would always be remembered as the darkest chapter in the history of the Malaysian judiciary as its independence, vouchsafed by the Federal Constitution, was stunned by the removal of Salleh as lord president. 

“It infamously led to the upheaval of the nation’s judicial system and a shattering blow to the judiciary and the constitution,” she said. 

Tengku Maimun said the 1988 episode should be a lesson to judges as, despite attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary, judges must, in all circumstances, be faithful to the Federal Constitution and be resolute in upholding the rule of law.

In paying her tribute to Salleh, Tengku Maimun said the former lord president was a great and courageous legal luminary as he had staunchly defended the Federal Constitution and championed the judiciary’s independence to his very end. 

She said Salleh had said judges ought to observe and respect the concept of separation of powers for judges should not encroach into the domain of the executive or the legislative branches of the government. 

Tengku Maimun said Salleh, who valiantly defended the role of the judiciary, had acknowledged it is the role of the judiciary to invalidate any acts of the executive or the legislative using prerogative writs or declarations should they transgress their powers beyond the limits granted to them by the Federal Constitution.

She said during Salleh’s tenure as lord president, the Malaysian judiciary was hailed as a model for other countries in terms of the independence and credibility of the judiciary. 

Seven months before his passing, the judiciary invited Salleh to the Palace of Justice to commemorate him as a special feature in the Malaysian Judicial Yearbook, she said. 

Tengku Maimun said that in one of his many interviews, Salleh repeatedly said it had always been his last wish and fervent hope to address the bench or at the very least have a simple celebration to mark his departure as lord president.

“For the past few decades since his removal, he said there was no closure for him as he never got the chance to bid goodbye to the court staff, the judiciary and the legal fraternity. The evening ended with a simple send-off ceremony for Tun Salleh,” she said.

“Little did we know that evening was our final parting with our last goodbye to Tun Salleh,” she added.

The reference proceedings was chaired by Tengku Maimun, who sat on the bench with Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed, and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim. 

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and 39 family members of Salleh were present at the reference proceedings, a time-honoured tradition held in remembrance of departed members of the legal fraternity. 

Attorney-General Idrus Harun and Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah, as well as Salleh’s granddaughter Nuralissa Norrazak, also delivered their speeches in his honour. 

Salleh, who hailed from Kampung Raja, Besut, Terengganu, died at the age of 91 on January 16 last year at Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu, two days after he tested positive for Covid-19. 

He served as lord president of the Federal Court for four years from 1984 before being removed in 1988 during a constitutional crisis, where he fought to preserve the independence of the judiciary when Dr Mahathir Mohamed was prime minister. 

He then joined politics, and contested and won the Jerteh state seat on a PAS ticket in Terengganu in 1999.

After quitting politics, Salleh practised law and appeared frequently in the Federal Court and Court of Appeal. – Bernama, September 14, 2022.