Seven judicial commissioners confirmed as High Court judges

Seven judicial commissioners were today confirmed as High Court judges in a brief ceremony held at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.

They are Rohani Ismail, Anselm Charles Fernandis, Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, Mohd Radzi Harun, Aliza Sulaiman, Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid and Lim Hock Leng. Their appointment took effect today.

The ceremony, which began at 10am, was held behind closed doors due to the movement control order (MCO) being enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Also present were Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf.

According to a press statement issued by the Corporate Communications Unit, Chief Registrar’s Office of the Federal Court, Lim took his oath of office before Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, while the others took their oath of office before Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed.

Rohani, 59, born in Kedah, had served as a magistrate, deputy registrar and Sessions Court judge before she was appointed a judicial commissioner on March 27, 2017.

Fernandis, 60, is from Malacca and was appointed judicial commissioner at the Ipoh High Court, Perak, also on March 27, 2017.

He had previously served as deputy public prosecutor at the Penang Legal Adviser’s Office, Attorney-General’s Chambers in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and chairperson of the advisory board of the Prime Minister’s Department.

Fairuz, 50, from Kuala Lumpur, had served as a deputy public prosecutor, legal adviser of ExxonMobil subsidiaries in Malaysia, and as executive director of the Securities Commission of Malaysia (enforcement division). He was appointed a judicial commissioner on March 30, 2018.

Radzi, 65, is from Teluk Intan, Perak and had served, among others, as a magistrate, legal adviser at the Transport Ministry and special officer to the attorney-general prior to being appointed a judicial commissioner in 2018.

Aliza, 53, born in Kuala Lumpur, was appointed a judicial commissioner in 2018 and prior to that was a senior federal counsel and as examination director at the Legal Profession Qualifying Board, while Meor Hashimi, 54, from Ipoh, Perak, was a federal counsel at the Defence Ministry and the Malacca Legal Adviser’s Office, and then a deputy public prosecutor at the Attorney-General’s Chambers before being appointed a judicial commissioner on March 30, 2018.

Lim, 57, from Sabah, was a partner at Messrs Guan Sing & Co, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, before being appointed a judicial commissioner at the Sibu High Court, Sarawak, in 2018.

- Bernama