By P. Gunasegaram
For the legal-minded, forgive me if I have used the word “recuse” improperly in asking whether Chief Justice-designate Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh should recuse himself from his position.
The common legal use refers to a situation where a judge steps aside from hearing a case because he is not in a position to judge a case fairly due to significant conflicts of interest and other factors which may result in him making a less-than-fair decision.
Should Wan Ahmad Farid recuse himself from a position if it is compromised by his past and he cannot do his job fairly and impartially as he indeed did when he recused himself from a prominent case previously where Umno’s Najib Razak was involved?.
It would illuminate the answers if we looked at Wan Ahmad Farid’s record and how he became to be announced as Chief Justice (CJ) of Malaysia by the Conference of Rulers, as recommended by the Prime Minister.
In the wee hours of the morning, at approximately the stroke of midnight, heralding the arrival of Friday July 18, the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court announced the appointment of Wan Ahmad Farid as CJ pursuant to Clause (1) of Article 122B of the Federal Constitution.
His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong gave his royal assent following the advice of the prime minister and consultation with the Conference of Rulers.
The timing of the announcement itself was rather weird. No one remembers the appointment of a CJ at such an unearthly hour. Previous announcements were made during the day.
Next, while many welcomed his appointment, it is a fact that he leapfrogged nine Federal Court judges and 24 more senior Court of Appeal judges. Wan Ahmad Farid was 25th in terms of seniority out of 27 in the Court of Appeal, in other words third from the bottom rung.
Quantum leap over 33 judges
It was a fantastic quantum leap where he soared over a total of 33 judges, including the nine Federal Court judges. What outstanding qualities did he have to justify such a jump? And why did PM Anwar Ibrahim make him his choice?
At the Federal Court, he leapt over luminaries such as Nallini Pathmanathan, Sabariah Mohd Yusof, Vazeer Alam bin Mydin Meera, and Lee Swee Seng in order of seniority, to mention a few.
Court of Appeal judges bypassed include Ravinthran Paramaguru from Sabah, Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali, Azimah binti Omar, Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Mohamed Zaini bin Mazlan in terms of seniority, amongst others.
Looking at his short profile, Wan Farid Ahmad does not seem to have had an outstanding service record but very conspicuously has been strongly associated with Umno.
| Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh – Profile |
| Career – 1985 – Bachelor of Laws (LL.B Hons), University of West London – 1986 – Certificate in Legal Practice – 1987 to 2003 – lawyer, Messrs Adnan & Wee in Kuala Terengganu – 2003 to 2008 – political secretary to PM then Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – Dec 2005 – Appointed senator – 2008 – Kuala Terengganu Umno chief – Mar 2008 to April 2009 – deputy home minister under Abdullah Badawi – Jan 2009 – lost Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election – 2010 to 2015 – partner at Messrs Wan Farid & Surin in Kuala Lumpur. – Dec 2015 – Appointed Judicial Commissioner – Aug 2019 – Appointed High Court judge – Nov 2024 – Appointed Court of Appeal judge – July 28, 2025 – to be appointed Chief Justice of Malaysia Sources: Bernama, Kehakiman |
| Notable decisions |
| June 16, 2022 Recusing himself at the High Court from hearing an application to allow a Queen’s Counsel (QC) from the UK to represent former premier Najib Abdul Razak in the appeal over the RM42 million SRC International corruption case. May 11, 2023 Ruled at the High Court that the unilateral conversion of Hindu mother Loh Siew Hong’s three children to Islam by her former husband was valid |
He graduated in 1985 from the University of West London, obtaining his Certificate of Legal Practice the following year.
For 16 years after that he worked as a lawyer at a firm in Kuala Terengganu before firmly joining politics as political secretary to the Prime Minister then Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, from 2003 to 2008.
He was appointed to the Senate in December 2005 and appointed deputy home minister in 2008 by Abdullah, fully embracing his position as a full-fledged Umno member who was rapidly ascending the ladder.
Defeated in Kuala Terengganu
He even contested the parliamentary by-election for the seat of Kuala Terengganu, possibly the most important in Teregganunu, for Umno in January 2009, vacated by the death of Umno’s Razali Ismail. He seemed to be handpicked to spearhead Umno’s thrust into the state.
But he lost in an upset defeat to the PAS candidate. Interestingly, Prime Minister-in-waiting then Najib Razak said that the defeat in Kuala Terengganu should not be interpreted as the voters having spurned Barisan Nasional. He denied that the poll was a vote of no confidence in his leadership.
At the 10-minute press conference, the BN/Umno candidate Wan Ahmad Farid, who was sitting next to Najib, did not say a word.
Of note, is that PKR was at that time in a coalition with PAS and others, known as Pakatan Rakyat. PAS vice-president then, Ahmad Awang (not to be confused with Abdul Hadi Awang), said: “The win shows that Pakatan Rakyat is a viable coalition.This win is not just for PAS but for Pakatan Rakyat.”
After his loss, he seemed to lose interest in politics. Wan Ahmad Farid then went back to legal practice from 2010 to 2015. He was appointed a judicial commissioner in 2015 and a high court judge four years later in 2019.
Unprecedented rise
In 2024 he was elevated to the Court of Appeal and less than a year later designated Chief Justice over 33 senior judges. Effectively, he moved from high court judge to Chief Justice of Malaysia in under a year, unprecedented in the annals of Malaysian history.
For this article, we shall look at just one of his major decisions – correctly recusing himself when he was a High Court judge from hearing an application to allow a Queen’s Counsel to represent former premier Najib Abdul Razak in the appeal over the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.
Considering his strong links to Umno and the fact that there are many cases pending involving Najib Razak and their potential to be decided at the Federal Court, as well as a potential move to get a house arrest for him instead of prison, should he not recuse himself as Chief Justice too?
On top of that there are other cases that may involve top Umno officials who have obtained discharges not amounting to acquittals (DNAAs), not least the current deputy prime minister, if the prosecution should choose to revive these cases.
Prime Minister Anwar in submitting Wan Ahmad Farid’s name for the top judicial appointment is remiss and has made much concession to Umno. The only way this wrong can be righted is for the latter to recuse himself.
P Gunasegaram says interference takes many different forms.
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