Reliable sources said Wong Chee Lin, 59, tendered her resignation a few days ago. However, the reasons are unclear.
FMT attempted to seek confirmation from chief registrar Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh by sending a text message yesterday but there has been no response.
“She tendered the letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong through the chief justice,” a source said, adding that Wong’s immediate superior Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed had also been notified.
Article 125 (2) of the Federal Constitution states a judge may at any time resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The source said the usual practice was for the Federal Court Chief Registrar’s office to officially submit resignation letters to the palace.
Wong, a commercial lawyer from one of the leading legal firms in Kuala Lumpur, was appointed judicial commissioner on March 30, 2018 and was confirmed as judge on April 9 last year.
Early last month, she was the focus of public attention when two organisations which are challenging the existence of vernacular schools sought to disqualify her from hearing the case due to her alleged lack of competency in Malay.
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla told Wong the groups had written to the managing judge of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur stating their intention to have the suit tried before another judge.
The Association of Peninsular Malaysia Students and the Islamic Educational Development Council, are seeking a declaration that a number of provisions in the Education Act did not allow for the setting up of vernacular schools using Chinese and Tamil as the main languages.
They said the provision in the Education Act was inconsistent with Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution and was, therefore, null and void.
Article 152 states that Bahasa Melayu is the national language of Malaysia.
Wong had told Haniff she was aware of the recusal intention and that they should file a formal recusal application against her.
However, she clarified that she had only difficulty in understanding the accent of a witness.
“It does not mean that I cannot manage trials in Malay. I’ve handled trials where the witnesses spoke in Malay,” she told Haniff.