Zaki Azmi

Tun Zaki bin Tun Mohamed Azmi (born 12 September 1945 in Alor Setar) was the sixth Chief Justice of Malaysia. He was appointed by the King on 21 October 2008 after his predecessor, Abdul Hamid Mohamed, retired from office. Zaki, who was previously a practising lawyer, was directly appointed as a Federal Court judge on 5 September 2007—a first in Malaysian judicial history. Zaki is the son of former Lord President of the Federal Court Mohamed Azmi Mohamed. He was appointed as President of the Court of Appeal in December 2007. Zaki's appointment as a Federal Court judge has been criticised by the Opposition citing his swift ascendency, presence of more senior judges, and the fact that he was a legal adviser to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the major component party in the ruling coalition, just prior to his appointment as a judge.