00:00More than one month after Federal Court Judge Zabaria Yusof's retirement,
00:04uncertainty persists over who Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will appoint to fill her vacant seat
00:10on the Judicial Appointments Commission.
00:12Zabaria, who stepped down on October 10, served six months on the nine-member commission.
00:17A source told FMT that it remains unclear whether Anwar will follow convention by naming the most
00:23senior federal court judge to fill the vacancy or choose another apex court judge he deems suitable
00:29adding that there is intense lobbying for the coveted position.
00:33Presently, Justice Rozaria Bujang, appointed in March 2020,
00:37is the senior most judge in the federal court available for appointment,
00:41alongside other contenders including Justices Noruddin Hassan,
00:45Bazir Alam Maidin Meera, Ahmad Terirudin Saleh and Lee Sui Singh.
00:50Two other serving judges, Justice Hanipah Farikula and former JAC member Justice Nalini Padmanadhan,
00:57are unlikely to be considered due to their impending retirements
01:00on November 22 and February 22 next year, respectively.
01:04Lawyer Salim Bashir called for the appointment to be made based on merit,
01:09while lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail stressed that the selection process must be conducted
01:13in a way that upholds the JAC's integrity and maintains public confidence in the judiciary.
01:19Panyu Zhu, FMT.
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