00:00Three lawyers have rejected former Law Minister Zayed Ibrahim's call to extend the tenure
00:07of Chief Justice Tengku Maimuntuan Mat by five years.
00:12Lawyer Bastian Pius Wendargen said the proposal contradicts the mandatory retirement age
00:18of 66 years for federal court judges set out in Article 125 of the federal constitution.
00:27The provision allows the young Tiputuan Agong to extend a retiring judge's tenure by up
00:32to six months.
00:35Wendargen said the move would be unconstitutional and open to legal challenge under public law.
00:42Last week, Zayed called for opposition leader Hamzah Zainuddin to move a parliamentary motion
00:49seeking the extension of Tengku Maimuntuan's tenure.
00:54Lawyer Philip Koh said while former Chief Justice Raul Shariff's tenure as the top judge
00:59was extended by three years, the move had been widely criticized by members of the legal
01:05fraternity at the time.
01:08Former Malaysian Bar President Salim Bashir reiterated that the prerogative of approving
01:14the extension of judges is best left to the wisdom of the king.
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