Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abang Iskandar bin Abang Hashim ( Jawi: أبانغ إسكندر بن أبانغ هاشم; born 3 July 1959) is a Malaysian jurist and lawyer who serves as the twelfth President of the Court of Appeal. He previously served as the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS).

Early life and education

Abang Hashim was born on 3 July 1959 in

Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...

Crown Colony of Sarawak The Crown Colony of Sarawak was a British Crown colony on the island of Borneo, established in 1946, shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. It was succeeded as the state of Sarawak through the formation of the Fe ...

(present-day

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, Malaysia). He graduated from the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LL.B.).

Career

Abang Hashim's career in the Judicial and Legal Service began on 1 August 1983 when he was appointed as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...

, Sarawak. In the same year, he also served in the

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

of Limbang before being transferred to the equivalent court in his hometown of Sibu in the 1984. In 1989, Abang Hashim crossed to serve in the Sarawak Legal Aid Bureau. Nevertheless, he was to return to the judicial service the following year having been made a

Sessions Court A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious of ...

judge at the national capital of

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. In the following years between 1992 and 1994, Abang Hashim took the opportunity to join various government departments in his service including serving as the Legal Advisor of the Fisheries Department in the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture. This was then followed with tenures in various divisions of the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) concluding in 2000 at which time he had become head of the Commercial Crime Unit in the Prosecution Division based in Malaysia's administrative capital of

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (), is the administrative centre of Malaysia. The Seat of government, seat of the Government of Malaysia, federal government of Malaysia was moved in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajay ...

. Upon leaving the AGC, Abang Hashim was then appointed as the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Department of Cooperative Development Malaysia Tribunal for a period of one year. This was quickly followed by a position as the Head of Prosecution Unit/Deputy Public

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

(DPP) in the Central Bank of Malaysia. Two years later, Abang Hashim returned to the AGC and resumed his previous posting as the Head of the Commercial Crime Unit from the year 2003 until 2004. In 2004, he was seconded to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), Bukit Kiara as its Director of Enforcement Division until 2007. On 1 March 2007, Abang Hashim was appointed as a judicial commissioner. In the same year, he was also appointed as the chairman of the Appeal Board, Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). As judicial commissioner, Abang Hashim served at the High Courts of

Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

from 1 March 2007 until 31 April 2009 before being transferred to Kuala Lumpur High Court on 1 May 2009. On 14 October 2009, Abang Hashim was confirmed as a full High Court judge and continued to serve in Kuala Lumpur until the end of 2012. He would then be transferred to serve in the High Court in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

in 2013. On 30 September 2013, Abang Hashim was elevated as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia. On 26 November 2018, Abang Hashim was elevated to Malaysia's apex court and took office as a Federal Court judge. As senior most judge from

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

in the Federal Court, Abang Hashim was appointed as David Wong Dak Wah's successor in an acting capacity as CJSS on 20 February 2020. On 25 February 2020, he received the instrument of appointment from the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...

(King of Malaysia) at the Istana Negara (Malaysian National Palace) to permanently ascend to Malaysia's fourth highest judicial office. He was later on appointed as the President of the Court of Appeal, first in an acting capacity upon the retirement of Rohana Yusuf in November 2022, then two months later his appointment became permanent as of now.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2021) * : ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Officer - DSPN

Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (DSPN) – Dato' (2013) * : ** Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DA) – Datuk Amar (2023)

References

{{authority control Living people 1959 births 20th-century Malaysian judges People from Sarawak University of Malaya alumni Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims 21st-century Malaysian judges Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak