Prominent lawyer Zaki Azmi today became the first person to be appointed
straight to the Federal Court, bypassing the convention of first serving in the
High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The 62-year-old lawyer with close ties to ruling party Umno - he was the party’s
legal adviser - received his appointment letter from Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin this morning at Istana Negara.
Zaki now holds the distinction of being the first lawyer to be appointed
straight to sit in the highest court in the country.
Before this, only lawyer Gopal Sri Ram had bypassed serving in the High Court
when he was appointed straight to the Court of Appeal.
Zaki, whose father Azmi Mohamed was Lord President from 1966 to 1974, has been a
consultant with prominent legal firm since last September.
A member of the world renown Lincoln’s Inn, Zaki was called to the English Bar
in 1969.
More recently, he was a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the
Police Force which was formed in 2004.
He had also served as Umno Disciplinary (Technical) Committee chairman, Umno
Selection Committee secretary and a deputy chairperson of Umno’s Disciplinary
Board Appeal panel.
Controversial divorce
He had stepped down from these posts in 2005 following his controversial divorce from his second wife.
Zaki had married Nor Hayati Yahaya, 32, in May 2005 and the marriage had fallen
apart after three months.
The duo had married in a ceremony presided by a kadi from Thailand and both of
them had agreed to burn the original marriage certificate to hide the matter
from his first wife.
They also reached an agreement before the marriage that if the relationship
soured, they would part ways.
Since then, Zaki claimed that he had received various threats from Nor Hayati,
who, among others, allegedly asked him for RM10 million.
She had also allegedly urged him to register their marriage, failing which, she
threatened to tarnish his reputation.
Other appointments
Zaki is also a member of the Abandoned Housing Project Scheme and National
Sports Council adviser. He also sits in the Malaysian Communication and
Multimedia Commission.
Along with Zaki, another judge - Zulkifli Ahmad Makinudin - was also promoted to
the Federal Court.
Mizan also presented letters of appointment to 10 High Court judges.
The new High Court judges were Mohd Safian Abd Razak, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat,
Abdul Alim Abdullah, Datuk Ghazali Cha, John Louis O’Hara, Rosnaini Saub, Lim
Yee Lan, Suraya Othman, Datuk Abd Rahim Uda and Noor Azian Shaari.
New Court of Appeal President Abdul Hamid Mohamad and Chief Judge of Malaya
Alauddin Mohd Sheriff also received their appointment letters today from the
king.
Abdul Hamid, 65, succeeds Abdul Malek Ahmad who died of brain cancer on June 1
while Alauddin, 61, takes over as Chief Judge of Malaya from Chief Justice Ahmad
Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who had been acting in that capacity since Norma
Yaakob retired on Jan 5.
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