For almost six years, Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has faced trials and public criticism during her tenure as Chief Justice, but remained determined to perform her duties without losing sleep over it.
In her speech as the outgoing Chief Justice as she is expected to retire in July, Tengku Maimun reflected on her journey leading the judiciary at the Opening of the Legal Year 2025 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on Wednesday (Jan 8).
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In her speech as the outgoing Chief Justice as she is expected to retire in July, Tengku Maimun reflected on her journey leading the judiciary at the Opening of the Legal Year 2025 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on Wednesday (Jan 8).
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4f3fwa6m
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00I speak today as the outgoing Chief Justice of Malaysia.
00:07My colleagues and I have, in at least one part of our judicial careers, faced these
00:14challenges.
00:15Additionally, as Chief Justice, I have carried the burden, image, and overall responsibilities
00:22of the judiciary for almost six years.
00:25And what a task it has been.
00:28One that I do not envy the next person who should carry it.
00:33As Chief Justice, I have been criticised, vilified, been labelled an Islamic or an enemy
00:39of Islam.
00:40My husband, unfairly so, has been used against me in some applications to not only have me
00:47recused, but more generally, to embarrass me and my colleagues.
00:52None of them have or ever will pass the test of my conscience.
00:58And praise be to Allah, I have not once lost sleep over these comments.
01:04When I was appointed the first female Chief Justice of Malaysia, someone asked me, what
01:10would you do if the Executive or any other influential party demands that you decide
01:17a case in a certain way?
01:20What would you do if history were to repeat itself?
01:24You are faced with requests to appoint certain persons as judges, or make decisions that
01:31you know to be wrong in law, but right for the party with a vested interest.
01:37Before I answer the question, let me stress this.
01:41A judge, whether male or female, must always decide justly, fairly, and objectively.
01:50I am happy to share with you today what my answer to that long question was, and still
01:56remains till today.
01:58It is this.
01:59I am here to do my job.
02:01I never coveted for it, but by the grace of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, I was entrusted
02:09to lead the judiciary.
02:11It is an extremely intimidating position to hold, but upon accepting the appointment,
02:18I am fully committed to doing it properly.
02:22I will not bend or bow to any person, no matter how high and mighty, to do what he or she
02:30demands of me.
02:31I always intend on fulfilling my oath of office, especially in ensuring the Constitution reigns
02:39supreme, and I am guided by no other considerations than the law and the facts of any case within
02:48the bounds of judicially established principles.
02:52In the soon-to-be six years within which I have served as Chief Justice, I have held
02:58firmly to the belief that what needs to be improved shall be improved, and what does
03:03not need to change shall remain.
03:07I do not believe that each time a person takes office, they have to override or cancel past
03:13policies that have proved useful for the sake of doing so.
03:18In this regard, I have retained whatever policies that were left behind at the time I took over
03:25that enhanced the judicial institution.