Lord President of the Federal Court

The title of Lord President of the Supreme Court was formerly the title of the head of the judiciary in Malaysia, until 1994 when the office was renamed "Chief Justice of the Federal Court".

The Lord President was head of the highest court in Malaysia after the abolition of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1985. Below him were the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Malaya and Borneo (and, until 1969, Singapore: see Law of Singapore).

The office of Lord President of the Federal Court was created with the formation of Malaysia in 1963. The first Lord President of Malaysia was Tun Sir James Thomson, previously Chief Justice of Malaya, and a Scotsman. It is after the Scottish office of Lord President of the Court of Session that the office was named.

When the right of appeal to the Privy Council was abolished in 1985, the Federal Court was renamed the Supreme Court and the title changed accordingly.

In 1988, Lord President Tun Salleh Abas was brought before a tribunal convened by the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad on the grounds of misconduct. The Supreme Court in the years leading up to 1988 had been fiercely independent and increasingly active, and was at the time due to hear an appeal to determine the future of the ruling party UMNO, which had been declared an illegal society by the High Court of Malaya on the grounds of procedural irregularity. As a result of criticisms of the judiciary made by the Prime Minister, a letter of protest was written by Tun Salleh to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on behalf of the judiciary. This letter was later used as grounds for the convening of the tribunal.

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