SINGAPORE : The Chief Justice of Malaysia, Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, spoke to some 200 members of the Singapore and Malaysian judiciary and legal profession on Monday evening.
He was delivering the 19th Singapore Law review lecture, the longest running lecture series in Singapore.
The Malaysian Chief Justice is the first graduate of a Singapore university to head the Malaysian judiciary.
He graduated from the University of Singapore in 1967 and recalled the good times he had here.
"To me Singapore and the National University of Singapore, when it was at the Bukit Timah campus, bring back many fond memories. But I will not divulge them for now," said the Malaysian Chief Justice laughingly.
In the audience at the Supreme Court auditorium were distinguished judges and officials from both Malaysia and Singapore.
The Chief Justice gave a candid and incisive lecture on the recent controversial legal cases in Malaysia which brought into conflict the jurisdictions of the civil courts and the religious Syariah courts.
These were a result of a constitutional amendment in 1988 which removed the right of civil courts to review the decisions of the Syariah courts.
The Chief Justice said: "There is no dispute that a written constitution must be viewed by a judicial arbiter as a living document sensitive to the needs of the time, if it is to be relevant and beneficial as a sacred covenant between a state and her people.
"Ideally, any amendment or development in constitutional law should only be made to meet the needs of current environment and circumstances, and for the betterment of human life in this planet."
The Chief Justice's lecture here was part of his itinerary in Singapore which will also include visits to the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts over the next few days.
- CNA /ls