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Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat retires today after serving in the post for six years. She was appointed to the post in 2019 by the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after receiving the approval from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Her appointment as the 16th chief justice made waves because she was the first woman to helm the judiciary. Tengku Maimun retires because she has reached the mandatory retirement age of 66 today.
While many asked for her tenure to be extended, Tengku Maimun said she has no regrets and added that her unrenewed tenure was not an issue.
Her expected successor, Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, is due to retire a day after, while Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan will retire in August.
The lack of a formal successor worries the Malaysian Bar, describing it as a “dangerous vacuum’’ and a “breakdown in governance.’’
Malaysian Bar president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab said the position of a chief justice is not symbolic but central to the integrity, independence, and functioning of the entire judicial system.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously said the service extensions of top judges in the country must follow the procedures set in the Federal Constitution.
Tengku Maimun said based on the responses she received from the public, especially from the last few months, and speeches from the lawyers, she believes she has restored public confidence in the judiciary to some extent. She hoped whoever succeeds her will continue her legacy.
Who is Tengku Maimun and how did she get here?
Tengku Maimun, the second-longest serving Chief Justice, hails from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. She had her primary education at Merbau English School before continuing her secondary years at SMK Kota Bharu and Sultan Ismail College. She finished her sixth form education at Tunku Kurshiah College, a premier girls’ boarding school.
She went on to read law at University of Malaya and joined the judicial service as a legal officer for the Southern Kelantan Development Board (KESEDAR) in 1982. She later on worked at the Seremban Municipal Council.
Following her experience working at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Magistrates, and Sessions Courts, she was appointed as a judicial commissioner in 2006.
Before becoming a Federal Court judge, the highest court in Malaysia, she served six years as a Court of Appeal judge between January 2013 and November 2018.
After the 9th chief justice, Richard Malanjum’s compulsory retirement at the age of 66 in April 2019, Tengku Maimun was announced as his successor in May 2019.
This made her the first woman in history to hold the office of Chief Justice Malaysia. Her retirement on 2 July 2025 made her the second longest serving chief justice, a total of 6 years and 62 days. The longest serving chief justice was Malaysia’s second chief justice, Mohd Eusoff Chin, with the record of 6 years and 86 days.
Tengku Maimun has an illustrious career, having been involved in several high profile cases such as cases concerning the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, the conversion case involving M. Indira Gandhi’s daughter, convicting then Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Karpal Singh of sedition, and dismissing Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s bid to appeal a High Court decision that it was guilty of negligence for the flood in Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands.
She was also part of the seven-person Federal Court panel chaired by then Chief Justice, Richard Malanjum, to set aside the stay of proceedings granted by the Court of Appeal in the trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. This enabled the trial concerning the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, related to the 1MDB case, to finally begin after much delay.
READ MORE: Tengku Maimun’s Life Story: The Country’s First Female And 16th Chief Justice
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Malaysia’s First Woman Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Retires Today, Here’s Her Legacy
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