DutaLand Berhad has announced the appointment of Tun Ariffin Bin Zakaria, 73, as Independent and Non-Executive Chairman, effective 1 December 2023. Following his graduation, his distinguished legal career began when he joined the Malaysian Judicial and Legal Service prior to his appointment. As a Federal Counsel and Senior Federal Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers Advisory Section, and as a Senior Federal Counsel in the Internal Revenue Service. He has also served as a Judicial Magistrate, Chief Justice of the Sessions Court and Chief Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court.
He held various positions in the Government of Malaysia, in both the Judicial and Legal Departments, before being appointed Judicial Commissioner on 1 March 1992 and a Judge of the High Court of Malaysia in 1994. He was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2002, a Judge of the Federal Court in 2005, and President To the Justices of the Supreme Court of Malaysia in October 2008. His most notable contributions to the legal fraternity; Improving the efficiency of the judiciary includes encouraging the use of information technology in courts, upgrading and installing CRT (Court Recording and Transcription) facility, implementing an e-filing system, and an e-financing system that enables payment through kiosks.
Other contributions include the establishment of new commercial courts to adjudicate commercial cases within 9 months, the establishment of environmental courts as part of the sessions and magistrate courts in 2011, the establishment of the Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam Construction Court in 2013, the supervision of the establishment of the Forensic Court in 2014 and the establishment of the Anti-profiteering in 2015, in addition to establishing judicial mediation across the country to speed up cases and reduce legal costs. He also chaired the committee that drafted the Rules of Court 2012, a combination of the High Court and Subordinate Court Rules, to reform and simplify civil procedure in Malaysia. On 14 September 2011, Tun Ariffin was appointed the 13th Chief Justice of Malaysia, where he served until his retirement on 31 March 2017.
In 2013 he was made an honorary member of Lincoln’s Inn. Potential management positions in public companies and listed issuers: DutaLand Berhad, Can-One Berhad, Microlink Solutions Berhad. He holds a Chartered Solicitor’s Law from the esteemed Society of Lincoln’s Inn, United Kingdom (“UK”), having been admitted in the year 1979.
He also holds an LLM from University College London, UK, in 1979. He holds the Legal Education Board Certificate of the Solicitors’ Final Course in 1979, a LL.B. from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a LL.B. (Hons. ) in 1974.
