Malaysia appoints its first woman chief justice

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has named Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat to become the country's first woman chief justice.

Her appointment is effective Thursday, the prime minister's office said in a statement. She replaced Richard Malanjum, who retired from his post on April 12. All 15 of Malaysia's former chief justices were men, and she is the only woman among her peers currently serving in Southeast Asia.

Tengku Maimun was a federal court judge from November 2018, after serving as a judge in the Court of Appeal, Shah Alam High Court and Kuala Lumpur High Court from 2007 to 2018. She was a judicial commissioner at the Kuala Lumpur High Court from 2006.

BLOOMBERG