Zaki Azmi

Zaki bin Azmi (; born 12 September 1945) is a Malaysian barrister who served as the sixth Chief Justice of Malaysia. He was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) on 21 October 2008 after his predecessor, Abdul Hamid Mohamad, retired from office.

Zaki, who was previously a practising lawyer, was directly appointed 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 Azmi Mohamed. He was appointed president of the Court of Appeal in December 2007.

Background Early in his life, Zaki attended school in Ibrahim School, Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar, furthering his studies at Anderson School in Ipoh and finally in English College Johore Bahru.

As barrister Zaki became a barrister through Lincoln's Inn in London, served at the Attorney General's Chambers from 1969 to 1970, and later served the subordinate courts from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Zaki returned to the Attorney General's Chambers serving as a Federal Counsel and in 1976 he became a senior Federal Counsel under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Zaki was called to the Malayan Bar in 1983 and practised as a lawyer at Shahrizat Rashid & Lee beginning in 1985.

Zaki also served as a legal adviser to United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), where he was the party's Disciplinary Committee chairman and had served the party in other areas as well.

Recent career In 2018, Zaki Azmi was hired as the Chief Justice of Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.

Controversy On 7 November 2008, Zaki Azmi made the announcement that two retired judges were suspected to be corrupt. He said he knew them personally but did not take action against them. Further to this, there have been strong links between Zaki and the government of Malaysia which would have signalled a conflict of interest should he become the Chief Justice of Malaysia. Recently, it was revealed that a company linked to former chief justice Zaki Azmi and UMNO lawyer Hafarizam Harun may have been given the concession for the Kinrara-Damansara Exchange (Kidex), a road project awarded by the government.

The award of the contract was purportedly made by the government just before the CJ retired. His wife is the shareholder of the company that is said to have been awarded the lucrative contract valued at RM2.2 billion.

Before his retirement in September 2011, the Judges' Remuneration Act (JRA) 1971 was amended to allow a chief justice, president or chief judge to claim for maximum pension after holding the office for more than three years. Previously, the provision required a chief justice to also serve a total of 10 years as a judge, out of which, three years must be spent holding the position of chief justice, president or chief judge. Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang as well as some lawyers alleged that the amendment was made for the sole benefit of Zaki Azmi. Zaki had spent less than five years as a judge but more than three years in aggregate as president of the court of appeal and as chief justice.

Honours Honours of Malaysia

Gelaran Orang Besar Lapan Negeri Kedah – Dato' Seri Indera Setia (2025)