PUTRAJAYA, Jan 8 — Vilified by naysayers and critics for being anti-Islam, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat today responded by asking the former whether they have been ordained the standing to question the faith of others.

During her final speech as the outgoing Chief Justice at the Opening of the Legal Year 2025, Tengku Maimun said she has been criticised, vilified and labelled un-Islamic or an enemy of Islam, including having her spouse unfairly used against her in attempts to force her recusal.

Yet, she said she remained steadfast in her belief, stating that none of these attempts have passed or ever will pass the test of her conscience.

Tengku Maimun also highlighted several landmark decisions on the scope of powers of the federal and state legislature, as she acknowledged that some parties have spun those decisions to appear as if the Judiciary or some judges within it, including herself, were anti-Islam.

“Some even questioned my faith as a Muslim. It is not for me to question the faith of others because in the first place I will never know, until the Day of Reckoning, whether Allah SWT has accepted my own (worship and deeds).

“And so, I will not bring myself to stoop down to the level of these scurrilous attacks.

“I stand firmly by what I do as a judge and Chief Justice and I will continue to believe in what is right.

“The spin doctors, naysayers and critics can say what they will and turn something noble into a purported vilification of Islam,” she said.

Making reference to the case she had presided over on two Malaysian Muslim women’s constitutional challenge (Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid & Anor v. Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan) against 20 Shariah offences under the Kelantan state law, Tengku Maimun said that the apex court decision eventually resulted in the vilification she faced.

In the aforementioned case, Tengku Maimun was in the majority, and the court’s nine-member bench struck out those state provisions on the grounds that they ran contrary to the Federal Penal Code and Parliament’s inherent power.

“Upon an analysis of the pith and substance of those laws, the Federal Court agreed in all those cases that the laws in question were not only applicable to Muslims in principle but pertained to general criminal laws.

“That is all it was. Yet, you would invariably have seen that some parties spun those decisions to appear as if the Judiciary or some judges within it, including me, are anti-Islam. Some even questioned my faith as a Muslim

“I wake up every day praying and hoping that the most beneficent and most Merciful Allah SWT accepts my ibadah and deeds.

“It is not for me to question the faith of others because in the first place I will never know, until the Day of Reckoning, whether Allah SWT has accepted my own,” she said.

Tengku Maimun is expected to retire in July this year when she attains the mandatory retirement age of 66, unless the Yang di-Pertuan Agong extends her tenure by six months.