SINGAPORE : The Chief Justice of Malaysia, Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh
Abdul Halim, spoke to some 200 members of the Singapore and
Malaysian judiciary and legal profession on Monday evening.
He was delivering the 19th Singapore Law review lecture, the
longest running lecture series in Singapore.
The Malaysian Chief Justice is the first graduate of a Singapore
university to head the Malaysian judiciary.
He graduated from the University of Singapore in 1967 and recalled
the good times he had here.
"To me Singapore and the National University of Singapore, when it
was at the Bukit Timah campus, bring back many fond memories. But I
will not divulge them for now," said the Malaysian Chief Justice
laughingly.
In the audience at the Supreme Court auditorium were distinguished
judges and officials from both Malaysia and Singapore.
The Chief Justice gave a candid and incisive lecture on the recent
controversial legal cases in Malaysia which brought into conflict
the jurisdictions of the civil courts and the religious Syariah
courts.
These were a result of a constitutional amendment in 1988 which
removed the right of civil courts to review the decisions of the
Syariah courts.
The Chief Justice said: "There is no dispute that a written
constitution must be viewed by a judicial arbiter as a living
document sensitive to the needs of the time, if it is to be
relevant and beneficial as a sacred covenant between a state and
her people.
"Ideally, any amendment or development in constitutional law should
only be made to meet the needs of current environment and
circumstances, and for the betterment of human life in this
planet."
The Chief Justice's lecture here was part of his itinerary in
Singapore which will also include visits to the Supreme Court and
the Subordinate Courts over the next few days.
- CNA /ls