Kuala Lumpur - Early and late. That was how the Chief Justice of Malaysia Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad summed up the life of late Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad, former President of the Court of Appeal.
"He began his career early. He got married late. He got his promotion as President of the Court of Appeal late. And he passed away early," he said when speaking at a ceremony held in remembrance of Abdul Malek at the Dewan Tunku Canselor, Universiti Malaya (UM) today.
He said he first heard of Abdul Malek when he reported for duty on his first appointment as Magistrate in Kangar, Perlis in 1969.
Abdul Hamid said the chief clerk told him of an incident a few years earlier when the late Abdul Malek reported for duty.
"He had arrived with his father. Since he was barely 21 years old and in the words of the chief clerk `looked like a boy`, the chief clerk thought that Abdul Malek`s father was the Magistrate reporting for duty," he said, drawing laughter from those who attended the solemn occasion.
He said he began to know Abdul Malek personally when he became the Deputy Registrar in 1974 and as a judge in later years.
He said he had the opportunity to sit with Abdul Malek on May 13, 2002 when, as the judge of the Court of Appeal, he was incorporated to sit in the Federal Court together with former Sabah and Sarawak Chief Judge Tan Sri Steve Shim.
"In spite of the fact I was a junior and sitting in the Federal Court for the first time, I felt very comfortable.
"They made me feel like an equal member of the panel," he said.
He described the experience as a pleasure as Abdul Malek was "friendly, in fact jovial" and "sharp but patient".
Abdul Hamid said Abdul Malek was so renowned for his integrity as a judge that when he died on May 31 last year at the age of 63, "the country lost an honest judge".
"Judges lost a brother who was a pleasure to sit with and a friend full of laughter.
"Personally and above all, I lost Malek," he said.
The ceremony was attended by the Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah who is also the Tuanku Pro-Chancellor of UM and the Raja Puan Besar of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim.
Also present were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Malaysian Bar President Ambiga Sreenevasan.
The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister`s Department Datuk M. Kayveas, members of the legal fraternity as well as those members of the Malaysian Inner Temple Alumni Association.
Source: www.bernama.com (1 Februari 2008)