A short guide to Wan Ahmad Farid, the junior judge who's now Malaysia's Chief Justice

After all the hoo-ha over Malaysia’s judiciary, we finally have a new Chief Justice. On 18 July 2025, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh officially took over from Tengku Maimun who retired earlier this month. But if you thought the drama ended with her exit… lol. It didn’t.

Wan Ahmad Farid’s appointment raised more than a few eyebrows, namely over his political past, his rank in the judicial system, and ofc, the age old question in Malaysian governance: did politics play a role? Cos at first glance, it just doesn’t make sense that someone that far down the pecking order is suddenly leading the whole judiciary.

But having combed through the Federal Constitution, there’s actually no rule saying the Chief Justice has to be the most senior judge. All Article 123 says is:

(a) they must be a Malaysian citizen, and

(b) they must have spent the last 10 years either as a lawyer, judge or in legal services or some combo of the three.

Which brings us to our trifecta of big questions: Who is Wan Ahmad Farid? Why was he chosen? And should we, as regular Malaysians, be concerned? Cos obviously we’re talking about how…

He used to be a political secretary to an ex-PM

Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid was born on 13 November 1962 in Kuala Terengganu and if his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because his family isn’t new to the political scene. His younger brother, Wan Hisham Wan Salleh, used to be a Terengganu state assemblyman and an Exco member.

Wan Ahmad Farid himself started out in law. He got his degree from Thames Valley University in London before sitting for the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) at University Malaya. He was called to the Bar in 1987 and worked as a lawyer for over a decade before switching gears.

And yeah, if you’re wondering about his political ties (we know you are ????️????????️), he’s been in UMNO for ages and even served as the party’s Kuala Terengganu division deputy chief in 2001. Then came the big gigs: political secretary to former PM Abdullah Badawi from 2004 to 2008, followed by a stint as Deputy Home Minister from 2008 to 2009. But after those few years in the hot seat, it seems political life just wasn’t for him.

Back to lawyering after calling it quits in politics

After a short one-year stint as Deputy Home Minister, Wan Ahmad Farid decided he’d had enough of the political rollercoaster and returned to his legal roots. From 2011 to 2015, he was back in the courtroom as an advocate and solicitor at his own firm, Tetuan Wan Farid & Surin in KL.

Then in 2015, he made his judicial debut as a Judicial Commissioner (kinda like being a judge-in-training) and served until 2019. During that time, he rotated between the High Courts in Shah Alam, KL and Kota Bharu.

By 2019, he was promoted to full-fledged High Court Judge and held the post until 2024. His bench-hopping continued, where he served at the High Court in Kota Bharu, the Special Powers Division in Shah Alam, and later in Kuala Lumpur’s Special Powers Division 3. It was during this stretch that some of his rulings started drawing public attention.

Where things got a bit controversial on his bench

During his time as a High Court judge, Wan Ahmad Farid’s name popped up in a few high profile rulings. One of the most talked about moments was when he recused himself. It was during an application by a UK Queen’s Counsel (QC) to represent former PM Najib Razak in the SRC International appeal – nyaas, the one tied to 1MDB.

He pulled out due to a conflict of interest, citing his former ties to UMNO and the fact that a few of his family members were party members too.

Then in May 2023, he ruled that Loh Siew Hong’s children had legally converted to Islam, based on evidence from religious authorities showing all three had recited the syahadah back in 2020.

He also made headlines in a suit against the government for declaring a state of emergency in 2021. In that case, he ruled that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s power to declare emergencies was beyond the court’s jurisdiction under the Federal Constitution.

And in November last year, he ordered the police to complete investigations into Teoh Beng Hock’s death within six months calling the 14-year delay inordinate aka excessive aka ridiculous. He also allowed the victim’s family to proceed with a judicial review of the case.

So with that kinda track record…

Can he handle the weight of the job?

Sure, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid brings with him years of experience in law, politics and the judiciary. But his appointment as Chief Justice still raised a fair few eyebrows, not just about hierarchy and qualifications, but also about how politically independent our judiciary really is.

That said, the Conference of Rulers and the Agong have given him the green light. So for now, we can only hope he does the job fairly, independently, and proves the skeptics wrong. Cos let’s be real, public trust in the judiciary isn’t exactly at an all time high. As for whether he can turn that around, well, the ball is in his court now.

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