Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon: Opening Address at the Singapore Academy of Law Annual Lecture 2025

Ladies and gentlemen 

1.    Good evening, and a very warm welcome to the 2025 Singapore Academy of Law Annual Lecture. On behalf of the Academy, it gives me great pleasure to welcome my dear friend and distinguished colleague, Her Excellency Tun Tengku Maimun binti Tuan Mat, who recently completed her tenure as the Chief Justice of Malaysia, as our guest of honour who will deliver the lecture.

2.    Tun Maimun has devoted her entire professional life to public service. After graduating with honours from the University of Malaya in 1982, she embarked on her career as a legal officer, first at the Southern Kelantan Development Board, before moving to the Seremban Municipal Council. In 1986, she joined the Malaysian Judicial and Legal Service as an Assistant Parliamentary Draftsman with the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Over the next two decades, she held various positions in the service, sometimes concurrently, before concluding her final posting as the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court in 2006.

3.    In that same year, Tun Maimun was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, and she was then confirmed as a Judge less than a year later. She was subsequently elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2013 and then to the Federal Court in 2018. In a historic appointment, barely half a year later, she became Malaysia’s first female Chief Justice on 2 May 2019, and held the position for over six years until her retirement just last week. In recognition of Tun Maimun’s significant contributions to Malaysian society, she was conferred the Darjah Seri Setia Mahkota and the title “Tun” in 2020. Adding to these honours, she was elected as an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 2022. 

4.    The announcement of Tun Maimun’s appointment in 2019 was met with widespread acclaim from the Malaysian legal community. The Malaysian Bar welcomed her appointment, describing her as a judge “known for her sound decisions, impeccable judicial temperament and most of all her independence”.⁽¹⁾

5.    This assessment has stood the test of time. A recent Straits Times article observed that she is “widely considered to be one of the best leaders of the judiciary in Malaysian history”.⁽²⁾ Her retirement last week also led to an outpouring of appreciation from the Malaysian Bar, who credit Tun Maimun for “leav[ing] behind a judiciary that is more accessible, efficient and technologically advanced than before, and more importantly … a principled leadership that has enhanced confidence in [the] judicial system”.⁽³⁾ Indeed, I recently had the privilege to contribute to a commemorative book dedicated to Tun Maimun and to celebrate its launch in Malaysia just last week. The many tributes shared on that occasion were equally heartfelt, and spoke powerfully and personally to her visionary leadership and inspiring legacy. 

6.    One defining aspect of this legacy is Tun Maimun’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding judicial independence, a task which she has described as her “mission”.⁽⁴⁾ On accepting her appointment as Chief Justice, she “[pledged her] commitment to defend the rule of law and independence of the Judiciary”, and was emphatic that, in deciding cases, judges should be answerable to no one except their conscience and learning.⁽⁵⁾ This compelling message became a recurring theme in many of her later speeches and a foundational principle that underlay much of the Federal Court’s recent constitutional jurisprudence. During her term, the Federal Court issued significant case-law on the judiciary’s constitutional role that, in Tun Maimun’s words, “affirmatively determined that the doctrine of constitutional supremacy is here to stay”.⁽⁶⁾

7.    Another hallmark of Tun Maimun’s stewardship has been her tireless dedication to promoting public confidence in the judiciary. This has manifested in at least three ways.

(a) First, across her career, Tun Maimun presided over numerous high-profile cases with political or religious dimensions. Several of these cases drew intense public attention – not only to the case at hand, but even to Tun Maimun, her faith and her family.⁽⁷⁾ Yet, even in the face of unwarranted criticism and unacceptable threats, she has always discharged her judicial mission faithfully, guided by a steadfast commitment to the rule of law and an unyielding resolve to do right to all manner of people.

(b) Second, through her judgments, Tun Maimun has promoted a more accurate understanding of the judiciary’s role by carefully articulating each judgment’s scope and import. So, when the Federal Court recently construed pharmaceutical legislation against the government, her judgment comprehensively addressed the submission that this amounted to judicial interference with the executive’s Covid-19 policies.⁽⁸⁾ Another example comes from her time in the Court of Appeal, when the Court upheld a civil court’s child recovery order against a Muslim father, notwithstanding a seemingly conflicting order from the Syariah court. Again, she took care to explain the relationship between the courts and why it was incorrect to suggest that there was a contradiction with or disregard for the Syariah court order.⁽⁹⁾

(c) Third, Tun Maimun has strengthened public confidence through sustained engagement with the wider community and championing public education on the judiciary’s constitutional role.⁽¹⁰⁾ Through her speeches, she has forcefully emphasised the importance of responsible public discourse⁽¹¹⁾ and the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in safeguarding judicial independence.⁽¹²⁾

8.    The profound impact and trailblazing nature of Tun Maimun’s leadership make her uniquely placed to deliver this evening’s SAL Annual Lecture. And while the lecture is not customarily delivered at the end of a Chief Justice’s tenure, this timing provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on her remarkable work and legacy.

9.    This evening, Tun Maimun will focus on judicial independence and constitutional judicial review in Malaysia’s federalist system. In both Singapore and Malaysia, constitutional supremacy forms the bedrock of our legal and social order. The constitution simultaneously confers and curtails sovereign powers. It entrusts the judiciary with the solemn duty of being the guardian of the constitution and the ultimate arbiter of the legality of government action. As our Court of Appeal observed in the case of Tan Seet Eng, this does not place the judiciary “in an exalted or superior position relative to the other branches of the government”, but instead reflects the separate and distinct responsibilities of each co-equal branch.⁽¹³⁾ It is this understanding of the separation of powers that legitimises and animates both judicial action in general, and judicial review in particular. And in a federal state like Malaysia, the relationship between state and federal powers adds yet another dimension to the judicial role.

10.    But while it is clear that the judiciary performs an essential role in the constitutional framework, the reality is that its decisions are not self-executing. Judicial authority, in the final analysis, rests on the judiciary’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public and the machinery of the other branches of government. 

11.    This underscores the signal importance of judicial independence. Without reliable institutional safeguards, courts become vulnerable to external pressures. Judges must have the autonomy and assurance to decide without interference, guided solely by their oath to do right to all in accordance with the law, and without fear, favour, affection or ill-will. Only then can judges preserve the integrity of their decisions and sustain confidence in the constitutional order.

12.    Tun Maimun has chosen a challenging topic to speak on, but also one of immense significance to all democracies. She will share her insights on the Malaysian judiciary’s evolving role in reconciling federal-state tensions and promoting public confidence in constitutional democracy, through the lens of historical precedents and contemporary challenges. While these issues have particular salience for federal systems like Malaysia, the fundamental questions they raise about constitutionalism have universal resonance.

13.    On behalf of the Academy, allow me to express my sincere gratitude to Tun Maimun for accepting our invitation. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in warmly welcoming Tun Maimun to deliver her lecture.