Tan Sri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...

Datuk Seri Panglima Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldest ...

David Wong Dak Wah (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geogr ...

: ''Vòng Tha̍t-fà''; born 20 August 1953) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

lawyer and judge who served as the fifth

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak The Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak ( Malay: ''Hakim Besar Sabah dan Sarawak''; ), formerly the Chief Justice of Borneo, is the office and title of the head of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak. The title has been in use since 24 June 1994, ...

Education

Wong attended the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

in Sydney, Australia. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

(BCom.), majoring in

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...

, in 1976 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(LL.B.) in 1977.

Career

On 29 September 2005, Wong was appointed as judicial commissioner at the High Court in Kuching. He was promoted to the post of judge at the same court on 11 April 2007. On 15 January 2009, he was transferred to the High Court in

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

. On 8 January 2013, he was appointed as a judge at the

Court of Appeal of Malaysia The Court of Appeal ( ms, Mahkamah Rayuan Malaysia) is an appellate court of the judiciary system in Malaysia. It is the second highest court in the hierarchy below the Federal Court. This court was created in 1994 as part of reforms made to t ...

, second highest court in the judicial hierarchy of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. He held this position until 27 April 2018. He was then appointed a judge at the

Federal Court of Malaysia The Federal Court of Malaysia ( ms, Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia) is the highest court and the final appellate court in Malaysia. It is housed in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. The court was established during Malaya's independence in 1 ...

, ascending to the

apex court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the country. Less than two months later, Wong was sworn in by the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

(King of Malaysia) to the office of Chief Judge of The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS), replacing Richard Malanjum who was elevated to the post of Chief Justice of Malaysia. As such, he now occupies the fourth highest judicial office in the country after the Chief Justice of Malaysia (CJ),

President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia The President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (Malay: ''Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan''), is the office and title of the deputy head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 24 June 1994, when the Court of Appeal of Mala ...

(PCA) and

Chief Judge of The High Court of Malaya Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

(CJM). On 19 February 2020, Wong officially retired as CJSS having reached the mandatory retirement age.

Honours

* : **

Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted ...

(PSM) - Tan Sri (2019) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK

Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(PGDK) - Datuk (2009) ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

(SPDK) - Datuk Seri Panglima (2018)

References

Living people 1953 births 20th-century Malaysian lawyers 21st-century Malaysian judges People from Sabah University of New South Wales alumni Malaysian people of Chinese descent Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu {{Malaysia-bio-stub