Wong (right) shakes hands with judges at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex on his last day of work.
KOTA KINABALU: The ninth Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri David Wong Dak Wah, officially retired yesterday.
Judges, officers and staff at the Court Complex here gathered at the court’s lobby and lined up all the way from the lift to the entrance door waiting for Wong to come down from his office at the fifth floor of the building, on the last day of his work.
As Wong came out of the lift along with his wife, Datin Janet Wong Ying Kin, ‘Auld Lang Syne’ music was turned on and he started to shake hands and some gave hugs to bid farewell.
The moment became overwhelming as some started to get tearful eyes and the slow melody ‘I did it my way’ had also put some more weight to it as Wong was shedding tears looking at all of them before exiting the door to his vehicle.
Looking at all the reactions of audience, it seemed Wong is close to the people and was adored by members of the court with many willingly showed up and made preparations, including a slideshow of him and his background.
As Wong walked to his vehicle, he paused at the driver’s side and made one last wave before entering the car and drove away from the court compound.
Wong, who hails from Sandakan, was appointed as the Chief Judge for Sabah and Sarawak on July 11, 2018.
He read law at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and also obtained a B.Com (majoring in accountancy) from the same university.
From 1978 to 1979, Wong was attached to a Public Accounting Firm in Sydney as a qualified auditor.
In 1979 he was admitted as a barrister of the New South Wales Supreme Court in Australia while in 1980, he was admitted to the Sabah Bar and practised as an advocate and solicitor in Sandakan until 1992.
Then, he continued practising in Sydney until 1996 and returned to Sandakan in 1997 and practised as an advocate and solicitor in Messrs Peter Lo & Co until 2005.
He was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in Kuching on Aug 29, 2005 and elevated as a Judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak with effect from April 11, 2007.
On Jan 8, 2013, he was elevated as a Judge of the Court of Appeal followed by the Federal Court of Malaysia April 27, 2018.
One of his significant achievements was being appointed as Managing Judge in ensuring that the computerised system and Court Recording System were implemented until to date.