They were his immediate predecessor, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat; former Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf; former chief judge of Malaya, the late Siti Norma Yaakob; and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Azizah Nawawi, who was appointed last year.
Wan Ahmad Farid, who became the top judge last year as well, said the judiciary was often described as the last bastion of justice, and that Malaysia had ensured it was built on the shoulders of its finest, regardless of gender.
“I am proud to say that all of the top positions in our judiciary were once held by women – not in succession, not by design, but by merit, by courage, and by the simple, undeniable truth that talent knows no gender,” he said in his keynote address at the Bar Council Women’s Rights Conference.
The conference, titled “Together We Create PowHER”, is being held at the Asian Arbitration International Centre here. Also present today was Tengku Maimun, the Asean Law Association president.
Wan Ahmad Farid said Tengku Maimun, the first female chief justice, was synonymous with independence and integrity. He also hailed the “unwavering courage” she displayed in her leadership of the institution during turbulent times.
He said Rohana, who helmed the second-highest court in the land from 2019 to 2022, was also known for her steadiness.
“Our first female chief judge of Malaya, Siti Norma – the one who broke the glass ceiling and ensured that the doors would never be closed again,” he added.
Siti Norma held the post from 2005 to 2007.
Wan Ahmad Farid said Azizah, the first female chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, had completed what history was quietly building towards: a judiciary whose highest offices had been entrusted to women.
Wan Ahmad Farid, the father of six girls, added that “each time the glass ceiling was shattered, it did not break quietly”.
“It broke with a gavel, in a courtroom, on the strength of a judgment. These are not just names in a list of appointments.
“They are proof – written into the highest offices of our land – that justice, when given a woman’s hand, does not falter. It leads.”