Judicial heroines and constitutional leadership on Malaysia's apex court

Yvonne Tew

Chapter 14 in Elgar Companion to Female Chief Justices in Comparative Perspective, 2026, pp 291-313 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter offers an account of three trailblazing women on Malaysia's apex court: Chief Justice Tengku Maimun, and Federal Court Justices Zainun Ali and Nallini Pathmanathan. It begins by outlining the trajectory of women's representation in the Malaysian judiciary, which was led by a female Chief Justice from 2019 to 2025. It highlights Chief Justice Tengku Maimun's historic appointment as Malaysia's first woman Chief Justice and her institutional leadership during pivotal political moments, including at the helm of the Federal Court panel that unanimously upheld former Prime Minister Najib Razak's corruption convictions. It traces the development of a constitutional doctrine protecting the Malaysian Constitution's unamendable core, spearheaded by these three apex court judges. This chapter concludes by reflecting on the legacy of these women judges in terms of their constitutional, jurisprudential, and institutional leadership, and considers the role of gender and other factors in judicial diversity and judging in Malaysia.

Keywords: Judicial Leadership; Gender and Judging; Basic Structure Doctrine; Tengku Maimun; Nallini Pathmanathan; Zainun Ali (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035308637
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