New CJ on quality of judges:
Maimun: A good judge must be fair, courteous and know the law well
PUTRAJAYA: In the eyes of Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, a good judge must be one who is fair and courteous apart from having integrity and a sound knowledge of the law.
Being a strictly disciplined person herself, Tengku Maimun expects her judges to adhere to timeline without compromising the quality of work.
She also emphasised the need for a judge to be courteous even when pointing out a flaw.
“If you need to tegur (reprimand) a lawyer, then do it courteously. Be fair to everybody. Treat the lawyers, whether senior or junior, alike,” she said.
Tengku Maimun spelt out these criteria during her first official press conference as the Chief Justice at her office in the Palace of Justice here yesterday.
Earlier, she took her oath of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.
She took over from former Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum who retired on April 12.
Tengku Maimun vowed to continue her predecessor’s work, especially the collegiate for self-governance where there is a collective leadership and collective decision-making process among the four top judges – namely herself, the Court of Appeal president and the two Chief Judges of Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak.
“Whatever reform that he has started, we will continue. We will only improve on it. But to introduce something new, I have to sit down and speak to my brothers and sister,” she said, referring to the other three judges on the top four positions.
Malanjum had also executed several reforms in the judiciary, including the timesheet system (a computerised system to encourage effective management of the court’s time among judges and judiciary officers) and eReview (an online case management system without the physical presence of parties in a court case for case management).
He also introduced the selection of the panel of Federal Court judges by balloting to hear cases in the Federal Court to avoid any allegation and negative elements in the allocation of cases and selection of a panel of judges.
When asked on how she manages work-life balance, Tengku Maimun said she has her supportive husband to thank for.
“I am blessed in the sense that I’ve got an understanding husband. When I was first elevated to High Court, he reminded me that being a judge is a great honour. In his words, a judge’s legacy is his or her judgments,” she said, adding that her other family members supported her a lot in her work and on the home front.
Tengku Maimun, 59, is married to Datuk Zamani Ibrahim. They have four children and several grandchildren.
Although she has created history as the first woman Chief Justice in the country, Tengku Maimun appears to be unfazed of her new designation.
“Honestly, I do not feel the pressure just because I’m a woman. Gender is not a factor at all. It (pressure) is due to the position, as it carries a huge responsibility.
“Whether you are a woman or man, to me, it is the same. You must carry out the responsibility as best as you can,” she said.
When asked if she had a message for young lawyers in the field, Tengku Maimun said her message to the young ones would be to work hard.
“Be honest and work hard,” she said.
Asked how she felt about bypassing some more senior colleagues for the top post, Tengku Maimun dismissed speculation that there was “uneasiness” among the judges.
“This is not a job that I applied for. This is rezeki (good fortune) from Allah,” she said.
Tengku Maimun believes that although she is a junior, the seniors who she bypassed are not upset over the matter.
“As a Muslim, this is Allah’s will. If it is meant for us, it will be for us,” she added.