KUALA LUMPUR: The nation’s fifth chief justice, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad (pic), 83, passed away at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) yesterday.
His daughter, Murni Abdul Hamid, said her father had been admitted to HUKM since Feb 9 and died of natural causes, with his wife, Toh Puan Hamidah Choong Abdullah, and their children by his side.
“The funeral prayer for my father will be held at the Musolla Taman Selatan, Presint 20, Putrajaya, after Asar prayers (yesterday),” said the third of four siblings when contacted by Bernama.
Abdul Hamid, who was famous for his motto, “Buat Kerja”, started serving as chief justice at the age of 65, succeeding Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim from December 2007 until October 2008.
The judge was born on April 18, 1942, at Permatang Tinggi Bakar Bata, Kepala Batas, Penang.
According to his biography published on the judiciary’s website, Abdul Hamid was born in a village surrounded by padi fields.
At about the age of seven, he started learning to read the Quran from his father, twice a day, together with other children in the village.
He later joined an English-medium school.
In May 1969, he joined the Judicial and Legal Service, where he served for 21 years.
During that period he served as a magistrate, president of the Sessions Court, assistant director of the legal aid bureau, deputy registrar of the High Court, state legal advisor, senior federal counsel at the Inland Department and head of the prosecution division before being appointed judicial commissioner.
Abdul Hamid was appointed as a judicial commissioner on May 1, 1990, a High Court Judge in 1992, a Court of Appeal Judge on Sept 1, 2000, and a Federal Court judge on Aug 1, 2003.
As chief justice, he authored three significant judgments concerning the jurisdiction of syariah law and the civil laws enacted by the State Legislative Assembly.
All these judgments became the basis of his papers and his speeches until after his retirement. They have been compiled in a volume titled Konflik dan Pengharmonian covering 508 pages.
During his tenure as chief justice, he also chaired the Special Court, which tried a civil claim against a former Yang di-Pertuan Agong and reigning ruler of a state.
He wrote the unanimous judgment of the court, which required the former King to pay US$1mil to the plaintiff bank. The former King complied with the order.
Throughout his career, Abdul Hamid had written 567 judgments on various branches of law, most of which have been published in the law journals and also on his own websites.
