Not a burden but a responsibility – new Chief Justice
Malaysia's first woman Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat regards her post as not a burden but a responsibility that she will execute to the best of her ability.
“Honestly, I am not feeling pressured. To me, gender is not a factor. Whether man or woman, it's the same, the responsibility must be discharged as best possible.
“I'm grateful... to be appointed as the first woman Chief Justice is besides the point, for me it is a blessing,” she told official media at her office at the Palace of Justice here yesterday.
She also expressed her appreciation to the Yang DiPertuan Agong and her former boss, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum on the appointment.
Married with four children to lawyer Datuk Zamani Ibrahim, she described her family, particularly her husband, as the pillar of support in her career development.
“They are my driving force, especially my husband who would always remind me that the legacy of a judge is the judgments he (she) made,” she shared.
When it comes to dividing time between work and the home, Tengku Maimun is thankful that she had a cousin who has been staying with her and helping her out for 30 years.
“That's probably why I could focus fully on my career,” she said.
On memories when she was still at school, she replied genially, “Nothing to share, because I wasn't very clever or naughty either".
Meanwhile, she also took the opportunity to send greetings in conjunction with Teachers' Day on May 16 to her former teachers in Kota Bharu, Seremban and former lecturers at the Law Faculty at University of Malaya.
As to what her favourite television programme was, she replied, “We judges don't have time to watch television. Not much time to do anything else. We work late hours in night, early morning and so on".
Tengku Maimun yesterday received her instrument of appointment as Chief Justice from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.
A graduate of University of Malaya, she began her career as a legal officer with the Kelantan Selatan Development Authority in 1982.
In 1984, she was appointed as legal officer for the Seremban Municipal Council for two years before joining the Attorney-General's Chambers at the drafting division.
Born in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Tengku Maimun also held a number of positions including magistrate, Sessions Court judge, federal counsel, senior assistant registrar and special officer to former chief justices Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.
She was appointed as Federal Court chief registrar in 2005, judicial commissioner in 2006 and High Court judge in 2007.
In 2013, she was promoted to be a Court of Appeal judge and in November last year, as a Federal Court judge. - Bernama