“The Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar salute this great man. He will always remain in our minds as “Malaysia’s Greatest Judicial Figure”.Infoline Dedicated Issue October 2000  Many are born the way they are, many are made the way they are and in either case a trail is often left behind with an indelible legacy.
The Malaysian Judiciary, the Malaysian Bar, all lawyers alike and all friends included cannot but feel the sorrow and sadness with the passing away of a man who possessed the greatest judicial mind and brought tremendous credit to the country and judiciary alike.
Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim from his humble beginnings having being born in Kuala Kangsar on November 12, 1917 proved himself at a very early age that with hard work and determination, one could achieve great set goals in life. His religious background gave him strength all the way in his convictions and at the age of 19 he was awarded a Queen’s Scholarship which was a very rare and prestigious award, let alone for having been selected to read law at Cambridge.
Tun Suffian or ”Suff” as he commonly came to be known among friends had a colourful background. Upon being admitted and called to the Bar by the Middle Temple, London, England in 1941, and due to the intervention of the war and Japanese occupation in Malaya, he found himself in India and not by choice worked for the All India Radio in Delhi where he did broadcasting in Malay. Later he proceeded to England and became head of the BBC’s Malay section.
In 1946 he returned to Malaya and joined the Malayan Civil Service. He then returned to Cambridge again to continue his studies in public administration. He also studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics where he excelled not only in his studies most actively and patriotically participated in the call for the country’s independence by joining the students UMNO movement. 
In 1946 he married Dora Evelina (Bunny) Grange who he had met in 1939 whilst he was studying in Cambridge. Upon his return to Malaysia, he joined the Judicial & Legal Service and commenced his judicial career as a Magistrate in Malacca in 1948. He was appointed also as Harbour Master, Malacca. During his stint as a Judicial Officer he had served in various capacities and in each capacity needless to say he excelled with great admiration.
Tun Suffian was a deputy Public Prosecutor, a State legal adviser, a senior Federal Counsel and became the Solicitor-General in 1959. At the age of 44 (in 1961) he was elevated and became a Judge of the High Court of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.
He had served as a Judge in Alor Setar after which he was transferred to Kuala Lumpur, and later appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on Salaries and Conditions of Service of the Public Service. What came out of the Commission is the well known “The Suffian Report” which among others recommended that government servants be given housing loans to build or buy houses of their own during their tenure of government service.
His other achievements are he was a Constitutional adviser to the Sultan of Brunei. He also was the head of the Commonwealth of Magistrates Association and is the author of several works of the Malaysian Law, a simplified version of the Malaysian Constitution in English and a translation into Bahasa Malaysia.
His high academic qualifications and his profound knowledge of the law saw him become the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Malaya in 1963, a post which he held until 1986. To return to his first love, that is, law and what he stood for and because of his very high and enviable qualities he took the high office of Chief Justice of Malaysia in 1973 and later the Lord President.
Tun Suffian’s Judgments are often cited in courts today and although some of the Judgements were made 30 years or more ago, his Judgments have become corner stones enunciating correct principles that he had applied taking into consideration both the law as it applied and as to how it ought to apply against the background of equity, and common law.
Tun Suffian will always be remembered not only by scholars of law, Judges and lawyers but all those who knew him as a man for his simple, gentle and humble character and for all his revered wits and sense of humour which he often displayed at meetings, dinners and other social events.
What stands most above all others as a Judge is that Tun Suffian took great pains not only to do a thorough research but all his decisions were written with the highest of quality and a unique style that was easy to comprehend.
His Judgments are written in lucid simple language clear and never obtuse or verbose. Tun Suffian was greatly respected not only within the local scene in Malaysia and Singapore but highly respected internationally by the Commonwealth of Lawyers and Judges. He was known personally to most of the prominent Judges of the Privy Council, Court of Appeal and House of Lords in England. Suff was the Malaysian Judiciary which was most respected and most highly acclaimed.
 His late wife Bunny who had passed away 3 years before his untimely death gave great support in whatever Tun Suffian did and she was always by his side and cut a figure no less than her husband’s. She was equally witty as her husband and highly intellectual.
Tun Suffian was specially invited by the Bar Council when the Bar Council held a reference on March 10, 2000 for the late Justice Tan Sri Wan Sulaiman at the Bar Council Auditorium. Tun Suffian spoke openly not only in honour of yet another great Judge who had passed away but also to talk of justice and injustices and he was sad to note of the changes that have taken place since he left office. He also said, inter alia,
“It is not enough for Government to have confidence in the judiciary if the public does not. It is not enough for the courts only to go through the motion of a trial. It is not enough if justice seems to be done if in fact justice has not been done.”
Tun Suffian was always outspoken and he spoke with authority. He never wavered and always spoke his mind fully supported by his own convictions, namely the truth. This sometimes hurt a few people where truth prevailed.
The Bar Council, the Malaysian Bar and all members of the legal profession have lost a great courage and of great aptitude. No amount of words in whatever form can do justice to the very man who stood, spoke and did all he could in the name of justice which he was born into and where he played his role with extreme appreciation and endearment and who has now left our shores leaving behind a legacy if not a long trail of fond and indelible memories.
The Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar salute this great man. He will always remain in our minds as “Malaysia’s Greatest Judicial Figure”.
 In the last few months of his life Tun Suffian was showered with all the loving tender care and attention and superbly looked after by two members of the Malaysian Bar namely, Tunku Datuk Dr. Sofiah Tunku Mohd Jewa and her husband Datuk Dr. Ya’acob Hussein Merican. The Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar are truly proud of them for the sacrifices they made in looking after the most revered Tun Suffian.
On reflection and for the information of many on Tun Suffian’s other achievements, you may wish to note that; he was the first chairman of the Higher Education Advisory Council of Malaysia. He wrote the Constitution of University of Penang (now known as Universiti Sains Malaysia). He was the Chairman of the Committee to draft a Constitution for the National University; he was also the first Malaysian Solicitor-General in 1959; he was the Chairman of the Ex-Service Association of Malaysia Building Fund Committee; and he was the Chairman of the Tun Abdul Razak Foundation.
He wrote several books, journals and articles on various aspects of the law which were published not only domestically but internationally.
His qualifications include: B.A. Canterbury (1939); Barrister at-law (1941); M.A Canterbury (1965)
He was given several awards both by the Malaysia government and several recognised international bodies as follows:
Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship in 1964
Honorary LL.D (Singapore) (1972)
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature by the University of Malaya in 1972,
Maysaysay Foundation Award in 1975;
Honorary Fellowship of the University College of Buckingham, UK in 1979;
President and Patron of a number of Associations including clubs and societies.
He showed special interest in gardening, his favourite hobby being orchids and crotons for which he received a great helping hand from his beloved wife Bunny. His other interest also included reading and collecting ceramics and antiques.
On Tun Suffian’s demise, Tunku Datuk Dr. Sofiah and Datuk Dr. Ya’acob received numerous messages, telegrams, telexes and letters of condolence from prominent persons from various parts of the world and there are just too many to mention, but all the same they covey one message that Tun Suffian was truly one of the greatest judges that ever was who believed in justice, impartially, acted without fear or favour and acted in accordance with the law.
He once said, “I hope that I shall be remembered as a man who was fair and just both within and without the court room and as a man who has given back to the community something in return for the great deal he has received from them”.
Tun Suffian was laid to rest at the Royal Mausoleum, Kuala Kangsar, Perak Darul Ridzuan as decreed by D.Y.M.M. Sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan Shah who himself is a former Lord President and who equally and distinguished himself in the field of law and justice.
Tun Suffian was a true friend of the Bar. He always spoke for the Bar and its independence and never failed when an occasion arose as to how important it is to have an independent Bar in the true administration of justice and the Rule of Law. Infoline Dedicated Issue October 2000: A Tribute 
Tunku (1st Prime Minister) and Tun Suffian share a joke Related stories: FLASHBACK: Reference in Honour of the late Tun Dr Mohamed Suffian Bin Hashim Tun Suffian Foundation Fund Raising Dinner
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Yes, Tun Suffian was a true friend.
I can vouch for that.
An ex-Cabinet member set up his legal practice. Subsequently, he got a telephone call from Tun Suffian inquiring with great concern as to how he was faring in private practice.
This phone conversation shows that deep down Tun Suffian cares very much for the welfare of his friends, even though that particular friend had dropped out of the political circuit.
I know this because I happened to be there when the Tun called.
I never enjoyed the opportunity of meeting this "great son of Malaysia."
From what I read, the Tun had a sense of humour, saying tongue in cheek that he would set up a practice in his Sungei Perak village after he got his honorary Ph.D.
It is on the record that Tun Suffian was brilliant, yet humble.
This is a very rare combination since he seemed to have excelled in his student days and scored.
The scoring never led to his arrogance.
In this light one can compare the student days of the First Prime Minister and the Second.
The first was humbled by his years in getting his law degree.
As for the second, you fill it in yourself.