KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top two judges are resigning, court officials said on Wednesday. Chief Justice Raus Sharif and appeals court President Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin are to step down on July 31, a judiciary statement said. The judiciary statement said the judges’ resignations were approved by the king on June 8, as is required by law for such senior legal posts. The judges had their terms extended last year despite exceeding the legal retirement age of 66 for their posts, in a move that sparked protests from Mahathir—then in the opposition—and the legal community. They are the latest senior officials to quit, or be forced from, their jobs since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad won a shock election victory last month on a pledge to clean up a government beset by scandal and other abuses. The attorney-general and central bank governor have both left their jobs after allegations related to a scandal surrounding sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Ousted former prime minister Najib Razak, his family and cronies were accused of plundering billions of dollars from the fund in a sophisticated fraud.

AFP