David Wong Dak Wah Explained

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima David Wong Dak Wah (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Vòng Tha̍t-fà; born 20 August 1953)^[3] is a Malaysian lawyer and judge who served as the fifth Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak.

Education

Wong attended the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom.), majoring in accountancy, in 1976 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1977.^[4]

Career

On 29 September 2005, Wong was appointed as judicial commissioner at the High Court in Kuching. He was promoted to the post of judge at the same court on 11 April 2007.

On 15 January 2009, he was transferred to the High Court in Kota Kinabalu.

On 8 January 2013, he was appointed as a judge at the Court of Appeal of Malaysia, second highest court in the judicial hierarchy of Malaysia. He held this position until 27 April 2018. He was then appointed a judge at the Federal Court of Malaysia,^[5] ascending to the apex court in the country. Less than two months later, Wong was sworn in by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) to the office of Chief Judge of The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS), replacing Richard Malanjum who was elevated to the post of Chief Justice of Malaysia.^[6] As such, he now occupies the fourth highest judicial office in the country after the Chief Justice of Malaysia (CJ), President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (PCA) and Chief Judge of The High Court of Malaya (CJM).

On 19 February 2020, Wong officially retired as CJSS having reached the mandatory retirement age.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Honours

• :
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) - Tan Sri (2019)^[10]
• :
  • Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) - Datuk (2009)^[11]
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) - Datuk Seri Panglima (2018)^[12]

References

1. Web site: 若没修宪延长法官退休年龄‧"里察任期至明年4月". Chinese. Sin Chew Daily. 12 July 2018. 13 July 2018.
2. Web site: 丘家绵盛赞东马大法官·"黄达华实至名归". Chinese. Sin Chew Daily. 13 July 2018. 13 July 2018.
3. Web site: Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak. Judiciary of Malaysia. 13 July 2018. 15 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180815131601/http://www.kehakiman.gov.my/en/court/federal-court/federal-court-judges/ya-datuk-david-wong-dak-wah. dead.
4. Web site: UNSW Law alumnus David Wong appointed to Malaysia's top court. UNSW Faculty of Law. 8 June 2018. 28 March 2019.
5. Web site: King presents letters of appointment to 14 judges. Bernama. The Borneo Post. 28 April 2018. 13 July 2018.
6. Web site: The Star (Malaysia). 12 July 2018. David Wong sworn in as new Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak. 13 July 2018.
7. Web site: The Borneo Post. 17 February 2020. 20 February 2020. Sabah, Sarawak Chief Justice Wong retires next month, no word on successor yet. Edward. Churchill.
8. Web site: Malay Mail. 17 February 2020. 20 February 2020. Chief Judge of Sabah, Sarawak retires next month. Tawie. Sulok.
9. Web site: The Borneo Post. 20 February 2020. 20 February 2020. Sabah and Sarawak Chief Justice calls it a day.
10. Web site: 9 September 2019. 9 September 2019. Malay Mail. CJ, AG Tommy Thomas, IGP among those awarded 'Tan Sri' in conjunction with Agong's birthday. Bernama.
11. Web site: 6 October 2018. 24 October 2009. The Star (Malaysia). Malay. Isteri PM dahului senarai penerima darjah kebesaran Sabah. Bernama.
12. Web site: 6 October 2018. 6 October 2018. The Borneo Post. Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak head list of 1,158 Sabah award recipients. Bernama.