Mohamed Dzaiddin bin Abdullah (16 September 1938 – 11 July 2024) was a Malaysian judge, lawyer, police officer and reporter who served as the 3rd Chief Justice of Malaysia from December 2000 to March 2003. He was also the first lawyer to become the Chief Justice.[1][2]
Mohamed Dzaiddin received his primary education at Malay School, Arau, Perlis and had his secondary education at Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar, Kedah. From 1956 to September 1957, he worked as a reporter for The Malay Mail before joining the Royal Malayan Police Force as an inspector with the Special Branch.
He went on to become Barrister-at-Law at the Honourable Society of Middle Temple, Inns of Court, London, United Kingdom, in 1961. Mohamed Dzaiddin studied law in London in 1962 and subsequently entered private practice before being elevated to the bench.
On 19 July 1966, he was called to the English Bar. About 6 months later, he was also called to the Malaysian Bar, which he served as Vice-President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 1981 to 1982.
He began his judicial career as a part-time Judicial Commissioner for 3 years in 1979.
Mohamed Dzaiddin was also the Chairman of the Kelantan Bar Council and represented the state in the Bar Council.
In 1997, he was elected as the President of the ASEAN Law Association and remained its president till 2003.
On 1 October 1982, Mohamed Dzaiddin was appointed a High Court judge in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and slightly more than a decade later on 18 December 1992 and January 1993, he was appointed the Supreme Court judge and later the Federal Court judge.
After retiring as the Chief Justice in March 2003, Mohamed Dzaiddin took up the job of the legal consultant at Skrine.
On 4 February 2004, Mohamed Dzaiddin was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as chairman of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police. On 30 April 2005, the Report was submitted to the Government. It contained 125 recommendations, the core proposal was the establishment of a body called the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), replaced by the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) in 2023.
An avid golfer, Mohamed Dzaiddin was married to Tengku Noriah Tengku Ismail and they have 2 children, Nadjihah and Azlan.
Death
On 11 July 2024, Mohamed Dzaiddin died in a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur, two days after being admitted to the hospital due to heart complications. He was 85. Mohamed Dzaiddin was buried in the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery the following day.[3]
