Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of Malaysia.

He’s the first Sabahan to hold top judiciary post

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s official. Tan Sri Richard Malanjum (pic) is the new Chief Justice of Malaysia and the first Sabahan to be made so.

Malanjum, 65, was sworn in and received his letter of appointment from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V in a ceremony at Istana Negara last night.

Also present were Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Attorney General Tommy Thomas, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and Federal Court Chief Registrar Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar.

Malanjum, who is former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, replaces Tun Md Raus Sharif, who resigned as the Chief Justice yesterday. Md Raus was supposed to vacate the position on July 31.

His long-time friend on the Bench, retired Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, congratulated him as soon as the news trickled down to the media.

“Richard deserves to be appointed as CJ on three counts. First, he is the most senior. Second, he is a lawman, like Tun Ariffin Zakaria, the former CJ.

“Richard’s interest in the law is paramount. He is an avid reader. Thirdly, he is a good administrator,” said Sri Ram.

Sri Ram said Malanjum’s appointment verified the oneness of Malaysia.

“I remember when he was first appointed as a judge to the Kuching High Court. There was a huge backlog of cases because of the disinterestedness of his predecessors.

“Richard rolled up his sleeves and went into the safe room where the old files were kept and took them all out and fixed them for disposal. Inside a month, he had got rid of the backlog.

“The credit for his appointment should go entirely to Tun Mahathir. May he lead us for many more years to come,” said Sri Ram.

In 1993, Malanjum was elevated as a High Court judge in Kuching.

At the age of 52, he was made the youngest Federal Court judge.

On July 26, 2006, he was officially appointed as Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak until now.