Malaysian ex-deputy minister emerges as surprise front runner to be next chief justice

Former deputy minister turned judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh has emerged as the surprise front runner to become Malaysia's next chief justice, after weeks of controversy over the post, legal sources say.

- Hazlin Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR -

Justice Wan Ahmad Farid, 62, is currently a judge of the Court of Appeal, the second-highest court after the Federal Court.

A ruling party lawmaker told The Straits Times that "this was the name that surfaced after Anwar's meetings with us in recent days", referring to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has been meeting lawmakers from the ruling coalition to clear the air over the roiling judicial controversy.

A senior lawyer said: "Yes, the name has been floated, and the legal fraternity would be more comfortable with someone of his experience and standing even though he is not in the Federal Court."

Datuk Seri Anwar said on July 15 that an announcement on judicial appointments was expected on July 16, but no statement had been issued on the matter at press time.

Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid was a High Court judge from 2019 to 2024, after being appointed as a judicial commissioner in 2015. Before that, he practised law in Kuala Lumpur and his home state of Terengganu after being called to the Malaysian Bar in 1987.

He also holds the rare distinction of having served in all three branches of government.

He was a senator in 2005 and a deputy home minister in 2008, and he joined the judiciary in 2015 after leaving politics.