KUALA LUMPUR: Women who rose to the top of the country’s judiciary did so through merit, courage and excellence, not by design or tokenism, says Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
He said all four of the judiciary’s highest posts had been held by women at different points, underscoring the principle that talent knows no gender.
Speaking at the Bar Council’s Women’s Rights Conference 2026, Wan Ahmad Farid described the judiciary as the “last bastion of justice”, built on the strength of its finest minds, regardless of gender.
“I am proud to say that all four top positions in our judiciary were once held by women — not in succession, not by design, but by merit, by courage, and by the simple, undeniable truth that talent knows no gender,” he said on Wednesday (April 29).
He paid tribute to former chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, former Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf, former chief judge of Malaya Tun Siti Norma Yaakob, and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Hajah Azizah Nawawi.
Wan Ahmad Farid said Tengku Maimun would be remembered for her independence, integrity and “quiet, unwavering courage” in leading the judiciary through challenging times, while Rohana brought steadiness to the Court of Appeal.
He described Siti Norma as a trailblazer who broke the glass ceiling and ensured the doors remained open for those who followed, while Azizah’s appointment in 2025 marked a historic milestone in the judiciary’s evolution.
“The glass ceiling was not merely shattered once; it was shattered four times, and each time it broke with a gavel in a courtroom on the strength of a judgment,” he said.
“These are not just names on a list of appointments. They are proof, written into the highest offices of our land, that justice, when given a woman’s hand, does not falter. It leads.”
On the conference theme, “Together We Create PowHER”, Wan Ahmad Farid said power should be seen as something created, shared and multiplied.
“When women lead, advocate, adjudicate and shape institutions, it does not diminish the power of others; it expands what power can achieve for everyone,” he said.
He added: “Justice is not only what happens in a courtroom. It is what happens in the culture of our institutions, in the composition of our leadership, and in the daily experience of every professional.”
In a personal reflection, Wan Ahmad Farid, a father of six daughters, said each had pursued her own path across fields ranging from actuarial science and engineering to communications, filmmaking and law.
“Not one of them defined herself by expectation. Each created her own headline, in her own voice, on her own time,” he said.
“The greatest disservice a parent or society can do to a young woman is to hand her a life she did not choose and call it guidance.”
He added that empowering women must become the norm across institutions, laws and culture.
“The true measure of any system of justice is not how it treats the powerful, but how it protects and uplifts those who have been overlooked for far too long,” he said.
