KUALA LUMPUR – Former chief justice Tun Mohamed Raus Sharif is set to be called to the Malaysian Bar as a lawyer on Wednesday morning.
According to a media notice, Raus’ long call is scheduled before high court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh at the Kuala Lumpur court complex.
Prominent lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun is set to move the call, while former Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Makinuddin is expected to put the ceremonial robe on Raus.
Raus served as the country’s chief justice from April 2017 to July 2018, having been the Court of Appeal president for over five years from September 2011 to April 2017.
Despite turning 66 in 2017, which was the mandatory retirement age, Raus’ tenure as chief justice was extended, leading the Bar Council to criticise the move and subsequently pursue legal action, describing it as being unconstitutional.
A law graduate from Universiti Malaya, Rauf first served as a magistrate in 1976 before being made judicial commissioner in 1994 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Law at Universiti Malaya, Raus became a magistrate in 1976.
Subsequently, Raus was appointed and served as a high court judge in 1996, before being promoted as a Court of Appeal judge in 2006.
He was then elevated to Court of Appeal president in 2011.
Retired members of the judiciary going into law practice have been reported in the past. In 2021, Zulkefli was called to the Bar, after serving in the judiciary for 25 years.
The motion to move the call was made by Hafarizam and supported by senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan. – January 15, 2024