Pioneering judge Siti Norma Yaakob dies

2026-03-13 - 09:34

Former chief judge of Malaya Siti Norma Yaakob died of pneumonia at 1.51pm today. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: Pioneering judge Siti Norma Yaakob died at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. She was 86. Siti Norma made history as the first woman in the country to be appointed a High Court judge (1983), Court of Appeal judge (1994), Federal Court judge (2001) and chief judge of Malaya (2005). She also served as chief registrar of the Federal Court, president of the Kuala Lumpur sessions court, and was the first female Malaysian judge to be appointed to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court in 2008. Her son, Meor Amri Meor Ayob, 56, said she died of pneumonia at 1.51pm today, reported Bernama. Siti Norma was born in Seremban on July 6, 1940, and studied law in London, earning her barrister-at-law from Gray’s Inn in 1962 and a Certificate in Public International Law. Beyond the judiciary, she was a former Universiti Malaya pro-chancellor and sat on the boards of public companies, including Tenaga Nasional Berhad, KAF Investment Bank, and RAM Holdings. She served as the inaugural Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) chairman from its establishment in 2011 until 2017.