Leading the procession were (from left) Asfia, Azahar, Rohana, Tengku Maimun, Wong, Tommy and Gerawat. Photo by Mohd Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: Over 1,000 lawyers, judges, legal officers from Sarawak and Sabah marched from the New State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Building to the Kuching High Court Complex to commemorate the beginning of the Sarawak and Sabah Legal Year today.
Dressed in full court dress and regalia, the law practitioners participated in the hour-long procession from 7.30am to 8.30am.
Upon reaching the court house, there was a cultural dance performance, followed by the singing of the national and state anthems.
Participants then took turns taking photos at the photo booth before heading into the Federal Court room for the event proper.
The procession included a marching band and display of the national and state flags. Photo by Mohd Rais Sanusi
As the room could not accommodate everyone, several court rooms were set up with projectors and speakers for a live telecast of the proceedings.
The event also showcased several new features of the courts as well as a presentation on artificial intelligence for data sentencing and self-represented litigants.
The annual activity is rotated between Sarawak and Sabah. The last one held in Kuching was in 2014.
Malaysian Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, President of the Court of Appeal Datuk Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Dato Sri Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Dato Seri Panglima David Wong Dak Wah,
Sarawak Attorney-General Datuk Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid, DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, DUN Deputy Speaker Dato Gerawat Gala, Kota Kinabalu High Court Justice Datuk Nurchaya Arshad and Kuching High Court Judge Supang Lian attended the event.
(Seated from left) Rohana, Tengku Maimun, Wong, Nurchaya and Supang in the courtroom prior to the event proper. Photo by Mohd Rais Sanusi