Abdul Hamid Omar

Abdul Hamid Omar was born on 25 March 1929 in Kuala Perlis,^[2] Perlis Indera Kayangan. He obtained his early education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar in 1940,^[2] which could not be completed as a result of the Second World War. During the war, 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.^[1]

He first entered the Malaysian Civil Service as a Magistrate in 1956,^[1] 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 made Chief Registrar of the Federal Court (1967) and soon afterwards a High Court Judge (1968).^[1] After becoming Chief Justice of Malaya in 1985,^[1] 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.^[2][3] After taking over as Lord President of the Supreme Court^[1] a vote of no confidence was passed against him by the Bar Council.^[4] He retired shortly after he became Chief Justice of Malaysia in 1994, when the Lord President post was abolished and renamed.^[1][2] 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.^[4]

His career is mired in controversy as he was widely believed to be the architect and conduit of the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis. He was also one of the 20 judges who had agreed to Tun Salleh writing a letter to the YDPA (the King) expressing concerns over the Prime Minister's attacks on the independence of the Malaysian judiciary.