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Abdul Hamid Omar

{{EngvarB|date=February 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}

{{Malay name|note=on|Abdul Hamid|Omar}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=MYS|size=100|SSM|PMN|SSMT|SPMT|SIMP|SPMS|DPMP (Perlis)}}

|name = Abdul Hamid Omar

|image =

|order = 1st Chief Justice of Malaysia

|term_start = 10 November 1988

|term_end = 24 September 1994

|predecessor = Post created
Salleh Abas as Lord President of the Supreme Court

|successor = Eusoff Chin

|birth_name = Abdul Hamid bin Omar

|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|3|25}}

|birth_place = Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya

|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2009|9|1|1929|3|25}}

|death_place = Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

|party =

|father =

|spouse = Azian Aiyub Ghazali

|residence =

|profession =

|alma_mater = Lincoln's Inn

|religion =

|signature =

}}

Abdul Hamid bin Omar (25 March 1929 – 1 September 2009) was the first Chief Justice of Malaysia.{{cite news|url=http://www.pmo.gov.my/datinrosmah/attachmentdocument/Article/02092009_Nst.pdf|title=Former Lord President Dies|date=2 September 2009|first1=Halimatul|last1=Hamid|first2=Nurul Huda|last2=Jammaludin|newspaper=New Straits Times|accessdate=11 February 2018}}

Early life

Abdul Hamid Omar was born on 25 March 1929 in Kuala Perlis,{{cite news|url=http://www.thesundaily.my/node/151780|title=Hamid Omar Remembered|newspaper=The Sun Daily (Malaysia)|date=1 September 2009|accessdate=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212083645/http://www.thesundaily.my/node/151780|archive-date=12 February 2018|url-status=dead}} Perlis Indera Kayangan. He obtained his early education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar in 1940, which could not be completed as a result of the Second World War. During the war period, he was able to master the Japanese language. When the war ended, he returned to Alor Setar to continue his studies and passed his "Senior Cambridge" examination. Later, he left for London to further his studies at Lincoln's Inn, and graduated as a Barrister-at-Law in England. He was called to the English Bar in November 1955.

Career

He first entered the Malaysian Civil Service as a Magistrate in 1956, and then moved to become Deputy Public Prosecutor of Perak State (1960–1961) and then quickly moved to being State Legal Advisor of Perak (1961–1962). After a few years he was then Chief Registrar of the Federal Court (1967) and soon afterwards a High Court Judge (1968). After becoming Chief Justice of Malaya in 1985, he was involved in the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis, chairing the six member tribunal which resulted in the dismissal of the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas.{{cite news|url=http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0902&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Dalam_Negeri&pg=dn_04.htm|title=Banyak jasa kepada sistem perundangan|language=Malay|trans-title=Many services to the legal system|publisher=Utusan Online|date=2 September 2009|accessdate=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212091143/http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0902&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Dalam_Negeri&pg=dn_04.htm|archive-date=12 February 2018|url-status=dead}} After taking over as Lord President of the Supreme Court a vote of no confidence was passed against him by the Bar Council.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2009/09/02/former-lord-president-abdul-hamid-dies-at-age-80/|title=Former Lord President Abdul Hamid dies at age 80|first=Florence A.|last=Samy|newspaper=The Star (Malaysia)|date=2 September 2009|accessdate=11 February 2018}} He retired shortly after he became Chief Justice of Malaysia in 1994, when the Lord President post was abolished and renamed. He was also involved with the Malaysian Red Crescent Society and joined the private sector after his retirement from the judiciary where he was chairman of several companies.

Death

In early 2008 he suffered from a debilitating stroke. He died aged 80 on 1 September 2009 from renal failure at the Gleneagles Hospital, Kuala Lumpur.

Honours

He was bestowed several awards, which include the Seri Setia Mahkota (S.S.M.) which carries the title of Tun by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 7 June 1989, the Panglima Setia Mahkota (P.S.M.), the Panglima Mangku Negara (P.M.N.), the D.P.M.P. and the P.M.P. He was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by the Oklahoma City University, United States in April 1997.

=National honours=

References

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{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=Salleh Abas}}

{{s-ttl|title=Lord President of the Supreme Court|years= 1989–1994}}

{{s-non|reason=Post abolished}}

{{s-bef|before=Lord President of the Supreme Court
Post created}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chief Justice of Malaysia|years= 1994}}

{{s-aft|after=Eusoff Chin}}

{{end}}

{{Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia}}

{{Portal bar|Malaysia|Biography|Law}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:People from Perlis

Category:Malaysian people of Malay descent

Category:Malaysian Muslims

Category:Chief justices of Malaysia

Category:20th-century Malaysian judges

Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn

Category:Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia

Category:Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm

Category:Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia

Category:2009 deaths

Category:1929 births