Malaysia's Chief Justice, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, has urged the public to read court judgments, including any dissenting opinion, before forming a view. (Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: Social media outrage and trial by public opinion pose a growing threat to judicial independence, says the Chief Justice, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who urged judges to focus on delivering justice rather than on winning public approval.
Speaking at an academic lecture for law students at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in Kuala Terengganu today, he said the judiciary must distinguish between public confidence, which it must learn, and public approval, which it must never chase.
“Our job as judges is not to be popular. Our job is to be right,” he said in his lecture on whether the judiciary can survive the court of public opinion.
