High court (Malaysia)

The high courts in Malaysia are important places where serious legal cases are decided. They are the third-highest courts in the country, after the Federal Court and the Court of Appeal. There are two high courts: the High Court in Malaya and the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak. Before 1994, there was also a High Court in Borneo, and before 1969, a High Court in Singapore as well.

The High Court in Malaya has its main office in Kuala Lumpur, with additional offices in every state in Peninsular Malaysia. The High Court in Sabah and Sarawak is mainly based in Kuching, with offices in other towns in Sabah and Sarawak. In total, there are 22 high court offices across all 13 states in Malaysia. These courts travel to smaller towns to hold sessions.

High courts, along with the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, are called superior courts. They handle new cases and also review decisions from lower courts. Each high court is led by a chief judge. The chief judges are important figures in Malaysia's legal system, coming after the Chief Justice of the Federal Court and the President of the Court of Appeal in rank.

High court registries in Malaysia

All the high courts and lower courts in Peninsular Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, are managed by the High Court in Malaya. In East Malaysia, the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak oversees all courts, including those in Labuan.

The high courts are located in many cities across Malaysia, such as Kota Kinabalu, George Town, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Seremban, Malacca, Alor Star, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu, Sandakan, Tawau, Kuching, Miri, and Sibu.

List of chief justices and chief judges

Malaya and Malaysia (on the federation level)

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Malayan Union (1946 – 1948)

1946–1948: Sir Harold Curwen Willan

Chief Justice of the Federation of Malaya (1948 – 1957)

1948–1950: Harold Curwen Willan
1950–1951: Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton
1951–1956: Sir Charles Mathew

Johor Bahru High Court

1985–1989: Tun Salleh Abas
1989–1994: Tun Abdul Hamid Omar

States of Malaya (since 1963)

Chief Justice of Malaya (1963 – 1994, after which the designation was changed to Chief Judge of Malaya)

Source:

1963–1966: Syed Sheh Barakbah
1966–1968: Mohamed Azmi Mohamed
1968–1973: Ong Hock Thye
1973–1974: Mohamed Suffian Mohamed Hashim
1974–1979: Sarwan Singh Gill
1979–1982: Raja Azlan Shah (later 34th Sultan of Perak and 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia)
1982–1984: Salleh Abas
1984–1989: Abdul Hamid Omar
1989–1992: Hashim Yeop Sani
1992–1994: Gunn Chit Tuan

Some modern texts will refer to them as Chief Judges.

Chief Judge of Malaya (since 1994)

1994: Mohamed Eusoff Chin
1994–1997: Anuar Zainal Abidin
1997–2000: Wan Adnan Ismail
2000–2002: Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
2002–2004: Haidar Mohamed Noor
2004–2006: Siti Norma Yaakob
2007–2008: Alauddin Sheriff
2008–2011: Arifin Zakaria
2011–2017: Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin
2017–2018: Ahmad Maarop
2018–2019: Zaharah Ibrahim
2019–2022: Azahar Mohamed
2023–2024: Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah
2024–2025: Hasnah Mohammed Hashim
2025–present: Hashim Hamzah

Borneo (North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak)

Main article: Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak

Singapore

Main article: Chief Justice of Singapore

North Borneo			Sarawak
Office	Justice	Tenure	Office	Justice	Tenure
Chief Justice of North Borneo (until 1951)	Charles Frederick Cunningham Macaskie CMG	1934 to 1941	Chief Justice of Sarawak (1930-1951)	Thomas Jamieson Laycock Stirling Boyd	1930 to 1939
	Charles Frederick Cunningham Macaskie CMG	1934 to 1941		H. Thackwell-Lewis	1939 to 1945
	Japanese occupation	1942 to 1945		Japanese occupation	1942 to 1945
	Sir Ivor Llewellyn Brace	1945 to 1951		Robert Yorke Hedges	1946 to 1951

Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei
Office	Title	Justice		Tenure
Chief Justice of the Combined Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei (1951–1963)	Sir	Ivor Llewellyn Brace		02009-10-01-031 December 1951 – 02009-10-01-0324 October 1952
	Sir	Ernest Hillas Williams JP		c. 1957
	Sir	John Ainley MC		02009-10-01-035 December 1959 – 02009-10-01-031 January 1963
	Sir	William Campbell Wylie QC		02009-10-01-032 January 1963 – 02009-10-01-0315 September 1963

Sabah and Sarawak
Office	Title	Justice		Tenure
Chief Justice of Borneo (1963–1994)	Sir	William Campbell Wylie QC		02009-10-01-0316 September 1963 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1965
	Sir Tan Sri	Philip Ernest Housden Pike QC		02009-10-01-0311 September 1965 – 02009-10-01-0327 August 1968
	Tan Sri Dato'	Ismail Khan Ibrahim Khan		02009-10-01-032 September 1968 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1973
	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Lee Hun Hoe		02009-10-01-031 January 1974 – 02009-10-01-0331 December 1988
	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Mohamad Jemuri Serjan		02009-10-01-0311 March 1989 – 02009-10-01-0323 June 1994
Office	Title	Justice		Tenure
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (since 1994)	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Mohamad Jemuri Serjan		02009-10-01-0324 June 1994 – 02009-10-01-039 September 1994
	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Chong Siew Fai		02009-10-01-0316 June 1995 – 02009-10-01-033 July 2000
	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Steve Shim Lip Kiong		02009-10-01-032 July 2000 – 02009-10-01-0325 July 2006
	Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima	Richard Malanjum		02009-10-01-0326 July 2006 – 02009-10-01-0311 July 2018
	Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima	David Wong Dak Wah		02009-10-01-0311 July 2018 – 02009-10-01-0319 February 2020
	Tan Sri Datuk Amar	Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim		02009-10-01-0325 February 2020 – 02009-10-01-0317 January 2023
	Dato'	Abdul Rahman Sebli		02009-10-01-0317 January 2023 – 25 July 202502009-10-01-03
		Azizah Nawawi		28 July 2025 – Incumbent

Office	Title	Justice	Tenure
Chief Justice of Singapore (1963–1969 (as part of Malaysia, 1963–1965))	Tan Sri	Wee Chong Jin	1963 to 1969