By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 4: The High Court in Kuching hosted a reference proceeding for three Sarawak judges who have passed away to commemorate and honour the departed judges and distinguished jurists in Sarawak’s legal fraternity.
The reference proceeding was attended by the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS) Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, State Attorney-General of Sarawak Dato Sri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid, Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew, Member of the Judicial Appointments Commission Datuk Stephen Chung Hian Guan, Registrar of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak Nixon Kennedy Kumbong, President of the Advocates Association of Sarawak Antonio Sim and other distinguished guests.
The departed Sarawakian judges who were honoured at the proceeding comprised Dato’ Seri Tan Chiaw Thong, a former High Court Judge who passed away on 20 February 2020; the late Datuk Denis Ong Jiew Fook, a former Court of Appeal Judge who passed away on 24 February 2020; and the late Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Jemuri Serjan, a former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak who passed away on 26 January 2022.
CJSS Datuk Abang Iskandar Hashim in his speech said Tan started his career as a court interpreter in 1950. He then served as a cadet legal officer in 1958 before being confirmed as Crown Counsel in 1960. In 1964, he was appointed as the Assistant State Attorney General of Sarawak when Malaysia was just formed as a new independent and sovereign nation.
He said the late Tan then became the State Attorney-General of Sarawak in 1966, and was elevated as a High Court Judge of Borneo in 1973 after a rich and distinguished career in the legal service.
He pointed out the late judge is also well-known for his role in the Sabah Constitutional crisis in 1985 where he was the presiding judge in the dispute on the appointment of the chief minister of Sabah between the two contentious candidates, namely, Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun and Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
At the end of the trial, the late Tan found and held that the earlier swearing-in of Mustapha was invalid as he did not command the majority of the House and that it was not in line with the State Constitution, in addition to there being elements of duress perpetuated on the Head of State which had tainted the appointment.
When speaking about Ong, Abang Iskandar noted the former began his legal career in 1967 as a cadet legal officer in the Sarawak Attorney-General’s Office before he became a Deputy Public Prosecutor and later Crown Counsel. In 1973, he was appointed Assistant State Attorney-General of Sarawak.
Thereafter, Ong left public service to set up his own private practice. In 1987, he was elevated as a High Court Judge of Borneo as the first resident Judge in the Miri High Court. Ong was promoted to a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia in 1996.
Meanwhile, Abang Iskandar noted Mohamad Jemuri became a teacher in 1955 and an administrative service officer in Sarawak before he entered the legal fraternity. Thereafter, after obtaining his law degree, he served as a stipendiary magistrate in 1965 and was later appointed as Assistant State Attorney-General of Sarawak in 1966. He was
appointed as the Sarawak Attorney-General in 1973. He held the post until 1989 when he was elevated straight to the Supreme Court before assuming the post of the then Chief Justice of Borneo.
Abang Iskandar said the late Mohamad Jemuri was a prolific writer, as was abundantly clear in his written judgments. He also wrote an essay titled “The Constitutional Position of Sarawak”.
Mohamad Jemuri devoted his entire career to the learning and the practice of the law, both as a top legal officer in the SAG’s Chambers, as well as a top jurist. He was the last Chief Justice of Borneo and the first Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak. — DayakDaily
