THE Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) today named four new members, including three former judges.

The new appointees are former judges of the Court of Appeal – Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus, Linton Albert and Mah Weng Kwai – and Universiti Malaya legal and constitutional expert Emeritus Professor Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, the JAC said.

They will serve for two years from September 4 until September 3, 2020. 

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad agreed to their appointment, which was made under item 5(1)(f) of the JAC Act 2009.

The four appointees replace former chief justice Arifin Zakaria; former Court of Appeal judge Anantham Kasinather, former Sarawak attorney-general Abdul Razak Tready and Universiti Malaya Faculty of Law lecturer Prof Dr Choong Yeow Choy.

The JAC now includes the chief justice, who is the chairman; Court of Appeal president; chief judge of Malaya; chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak and a Federal Court judge appointed by the prime minister.

The JAC was established in 2009 to ensure unbiased selection of judicial candidates for the consideration of the prime minister, who has the final say regarding the appointment of judges to the superior courts. – Bernama, September 18, 2018.