Sultan Azlan, The Youngest Judge in Commonwealth History
As children of Perak Darul Ridzuan, we all truly miss the reign of the late Paduka Seri Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah, who ruled the state of Perak and its territories for 33 years.
He also served as the 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is remembered as a Sultan who was close to the people and highly educated. This time, orangperak.com would like to touch upon the personality and achievements of His Majesty during his tenure as the Lord President of the Federal Court, as recounted by the Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria, and cited from mstar.com and utusanonline.
Raja Azlan (later Sultan) began his judicial service from the lowest level (First Class Magistrate) to the highest level as the Lord President of the Federal Court. Sultan Azlan Shah was promoted to High Court Judge of Malaya in 1965 at the age of 37, becoming the youngest judge appointed in the Commonwealth. In 1973, he was appointed as a Federal Court Judge, and six years later in 1979, as the Chief Justice of Malaya, a position he held until his appointment as the Lord President of the Federal Court on Nov 12, 1982, making him the youngest judge and heir to the state throne to be appointed to that position.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria described the late Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, as a patient judge, noting that the position was perfectly suited to him. Tun Arifin stated that during his time as a judge and Lord President, Sultan Azlan Shah wrote many significant judgments, particularly regarding constitutional and administrative law. "We (the judges) still read and refer to the judgments and decisions he made,"
Tun Arifin further touched on one of the most important cases in national land law decided by the late Sultan as the trial judge, which was the case of Sidek and 461 Ors v. Government of the State of Perak [1982] 1 MLJ 313, involving the clearing of forest areas near Teluk Intan by a group of landless citizens. The plaintiffs in this case were the pioneers (the first group) who cleared the forest area, followed by many others later. Although the plaintiffs were initially informed that their group would be granted land in the area they cleared, their hopes were ultimately not realized.
In this case, the main issue to be decided by the trial judge was the status of squatters under national law. At the end of the trial, the late Sultan, as the trial judge, ruled that, "Squatters have no rights in law or equity." This decision by the late Sultan has been consistently followed and cited by many other judges whenever squatter cases reach the court.
Another decision by the late Sultan that I cannot forget is the case of Roberts v. Ummi Kalthom [1966] 1 MLJ 163. When the late Sultan heard this case, he had just assumed the position of High Court Judge. The main issue in this case revolved around a husband's rights to property (a piece of land) registered under his wife's name after the couple divorced. The plaintiff in this case was a non-Malay who had converted to Islam before marrying the defendant.
The late Sultan's judgment in this case was the beginning of modern matrimonial property law (harta sepencarian), which was subsequently developed by other judges. Today, matrimonial property cases are no longer heard in civil courts as they fall under the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts. However, the Ummi Kalthom case remains one of the important reference cases regarding matrimonial property.
Tun Arifin, who has extensive experience working with Sultan Azlan Shah since he became a registrar at the High Court in 1976, described him as a patient judge. "When Tuanku was appointed as the Sultan of Perak, I was also the Legal Advisor for the State of Perak and I served for about five years, and when Tuanku became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, I received my appointment letter as a High Court Judge from him."
"All judges and lawyers would agree that he was a patient judge and truly suited for that position (judge). I am truly proud to have worked with him," said Arifin, adding that he had handled cases before Sultan Azlan Shah when he was a federal counsel. The late Sultan Azlan Shah passed away on May 28, 2014, and was laid to rest at the Al-Ghufran Royal Mausoleum, Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar. May Allah shower blessings upon his soul.
