New High Court judge in Sarawak

By ANDY CHUA
andychua@thestar.com.my

SIBU: Justice Yew Jen Kie became Sarawak’s first woman High Court Judge yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after the elevation ceremony in the morning at the High Court here, Justice Yew said she was mindful of her duty as a judge and promised to do her best.

The first woman High Court Judge of Sabah and Sarawak said she was privileged and honoured to be appointed to the post, which was announced on April 14 but took effect yesterday. She was a judicial commissioner previously.
»My original intention was to pursue law as a stepping stone to another profession« JUSTICE YEW JEN KIE

She will be based at the Sibu High Court.

Justice Yew said she was not aware that she was the first woman High Court Judge in Sabah and Sarawak until someone mentioned it to her.

“Only then I realised I am the first woman to be appointed to this position,” she added.

She believed that with more women reading law there would be more women judges in the country soon.

In her speech at the ceremony, she talked of the importance of the public having confidence in the courts.

Looking back, she said she took up law in 1973 with no intention to pursue a legal career.

“My original intention was to pursue law as a stepping stone to another profession, which was a chartered secretary.

“After a very short stint with a legal firm, I embarked on a judicial career which spanned over three decades, culminating in the elevation to a high court judge.

“It is a calling to which I will remain faithful,” she said.

Yew read law at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1973. She was called to the Bar on May 12, 1979.

She served as a magistrate in Sarikei, and a Sessions Court judge for 17 years before her appointment as Judicial Commissioner in 2007.

She is married to Chai Ching Nan. They have three children aged between 21 and 25.