Chief Judge Norma Yaakob calls it a day after 43 years

PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob, the country’s first woman Chief Judge of Malaya, retires today at the age of 66 years and six months. 

She feels it will be “nice to get away” after more than 43 years in the legal and judicial service but added she was leaving with mixed feelings. 

Siti Norma: ‘If there is a need to work, it will have to be something that Ilike to do at my own time, not something that I have to do’

“I will be focusing on my personal interests after this. A vacation is uppermost on my mind,” she said. 

Her husband is also happy that he will now have “somebody to fight with at home,” she quipped, adding that her seven grandchildren were all looking forward to spending more time with her. 

The modest Siti Norma, appointed in February 2005, has chalked up numerous significant achievements in the judicial profession.  

She was the country’s first woman High Court judge in 1983, the first woman Court of Appeal judge in 1994 and the first woman Federal Court judge in 2001. 

According to her, it was not an easy climb. 

“It was highly competitive for a woman to find a niche in this profession, especially during my time,” she said yesterday, adding that she was happy that more women were in the profession now. 

“I started my career in 1963. Being a woman, I really had to show my expertise.”  

Siti Norma, who has two sons and a daughter, also said she believed in doing something to the best of her capabilities.  

However, she declined to reveal much about her plans for the future. 

“If there is a need to work, it will have to be something that I like to do at my own time, not something that I have to do,” she said. 

Asked whether this meant she would be writing a book, she laughed and said: “That is a big question mark.”