PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Bar proposes that the retirement age of judges is increased to 70 years old instead of the current age limit of 65.
Bar president Karen Cheah said that many jurisdictions across the globe had set the retirement age at 70.
In some countries, Cheah said there were proposals for the retirement age to be increased to 75 or even 80.
Cheah, who made the proposal in her speech at the Opening of the Legal Year (OLY) 2023 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here on Monday (Jan 9), said the reform of retirement age would strengthen the judiciary and retain the nation's talents.
"The Malaysian Bar urges the government to make constitutional amendments to give effect to this important reform," Cheah added.
The proposal was well received by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat in a press conference later with the press.
The CJ said that although the proposal had not been discussed yet, it was a matter that the judiciary could look into.
"Truthfully, we have not discussed this and nothing has been agreed upon.
"If the judges are comfortable with the current retirement age, there is no issue... they can even retire earlier than the current age," she added.
