Wan Ahmad Farid called for more institutional support, adding that there is a need to add more judges to the current roster.
“There is a natural limit to how much additional workload can be absorbed without affecting well-being and quality of decision-making,” he said.
Wan Ahmad Farid said that Malaysia currently has a ratio of one superior court judge for roughly 239,852 people, based on its 36 million population.
This is then contrasted against other countries like Australia – which has roughly one superior court judge for every 124,000 people – and to Canada which has approximately one judge for every 47,000 people.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country has a population of 27.6 million people as of June 2025. Meanwhile, Canada is home to about 41.6 million people, according to latest population estimates.
Malay Mail reported Wan Ahmad Farid as saying that those countries have more sustainable workloads for their judges and court cases could be resolved faster there.
“The implications are clear. The current shortfall in judicial manpower, both at the superior and subordinate court levels, places immense and growing pressure on the justice system,” he said.
Wan Ahmad Farid further noted that Sessions Court judges and magistrates in Malaysia have heavy workloads because of the “limited number of established posts” for such positions, which contributes to delays and uneven distribution of workload in different states and districts.
“For these reasons, there is an urgent and pressing need for the government to consider increasing the number … of judicial officers, especially those serving in the lower courts,” he said.
For superior court judges, he said the Judicial Appointments Commission is reviewing proposals for appointments of judges and judicial commissioners, as well as proposals to suggest possible amendments to the Federal Constitution if there is such a need.
Source: CNA
