“Judges must in all circumstances be faithful to the Federal Constitution and resolute in upholding the rule of law,” she said at the event to honour Salleh, who died early last year.
Fighting to preserve the independence of the judiciary, Salleh suffered the ignominy of being removed from the nation’s highest judicial office, along with five Federal Court judges, when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister, triggering a constitutional crisis.
The year 1988 will always be remembered as the darkest chapter in the history of the Malaysian judiciary and the episode and its repercussions must serve as a lesson to the entire legal fraternity, said Tengku Maimun.
“We were stunned by the removal of Salleh. Infamously, it led to the upheaval of the nation’s judicial system and was a shattering blow to the judiciary and the constitution,” she said.
She said that under Salleh, the judiciary was a role model in terms of independence.
“As judge and lord president, he set many legal precedents that are still felt to this day,” she said.
A valiant defender of the role of the judiciary, she said, Salleh constantly reminded judges of the need to observe and respect the concept of separation of powers.
Attorney-General Idrus Harun, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah and Salleh’s granddaughter, Nuralissa Norrazak, also spoke in remembrance of Salleh.
Also present were deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, former chief justice Raus Sharif and former attorney-general Tommy Thomas.
Salleh, who hailed from Kampung Raja in Besut, Terengganu, died on Jan 16, 2021 at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu, two days after testing positive for Covid-19. He was 91.
He served as lord president of the Federal Court from 1984 to 1988. The office has since been renamed to chief justice.
Before that, he served as a magistrate and later as a deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, before going on to become the solicitor-general in 1966.
He later moved briefly to politics, winning the Jerteh state seat in Terengganu on a PAS ticket in the 1999 general election and held the post of state executive councillor when PAS came into power.