KL confirms new chief justice

KL confirms new chief justice

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): The Malaysian government confirmed
the appointment of a new chief justice on Thursday in a move
legal experts hope will restore the integrity of a judiciary
criticized at home and abroad after the convictions of former
deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Mohamad Dzaiddin Abdullah, 63, a former journalist who has
served as a High Court judge since 1982, succeeds Eusoff Chin,
who had come under fire by critics who alleged his independence
had been compromised when he was photographed on a foreign
holiday with an influential lawyer.

The new chief justice will also be taking over an overburdened
judiciary.

On Thursday, a government official told Parliament that more
than 700,000 cases were pending at various levels.

The backlog in high courts was 55,073 cases (53,442 civil and
1,631 criminal); in sessions court 90,749 cases (87,746 and
3,003); and in magistrate's courts 553,695 cases (171,892 civil,
55,210 criminal and 326,593 traffic police summonses).