He said the judiciary was aware of the scale of the backlog, using courts in Johor Bharu as an example.

“In Johor Bahru, a judge is handling about 800 cases which is humanly impossible. A normal situation would be about 200 to 250 cases,” he told reporters after the launch of the Court of Appeal circuit sitting here.

Wan Farid said long-term solutions were still needed to reduce the workload, as appointing judicial commissioners was only “firefighting”.

He said mediation and court-annexed mediation could help reduce the number of cases proceeding to full trial.

“We don’t want to firefight. We have other things in mind to reduce the workload,” he said, adding that the Judicial Appointments Commission was still filling vacancies and would consider appointing more judges and judicial commissioners once complete.

Judicial commissioners are temporary appointees with the same powers as judges while in office but who serve for a limited term.

Court backlogs in Malaysia remain a significant issue, with delays also noted in delivering judgments.

Lawyers previously urged the judiciary and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to work together to address the mounting backlog of criminal cases involving serious offences, particularly in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Earlier during the launch, Court of Appeal president Abu Bakar Jais said the revival of circuit sittings restored a long-standing tradition of bringing courts closer to the public

“Today, the court will come to the people, not the other way around,” he said, adding that the sittings also eased logistical challenges, including long-distance inmate transfers and family attendance.

Separately, Wan Farid said Sabah and Sarawak already had monthly sittings in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, which the judiciary planned to expand.

“We are thinking of Miri first… and Sandakan. We go to them. This is what we call access to justice,” he said.