PUTRAJAYA, Sept 18 — The four eminent persons of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) have been replaced, according to a statement from the JAC secretariat.

The new appointees are three former judges of the Court of Appeal, namely Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus, Datuk Linton Albert and Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, and University of Malaya legal and constitutional expert Emeritus Professor Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi, it said.

The statement said they will serve for a period of two years, from September 4 this year to September 3, 2020.

It also said that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had agreed to their appointment, which was made under item 5(1)(f) of the JAC Act 2009.

The four appointees replace former Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria; former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Anantham Kasinather, former Sarawak attorney general Datu Abdul Razak Tready and University of Malaya Faculty of Law lecturer Prof Choong Yeow Choy.

The JAC recorded its thanks and appreciation to Arifin, Anantham, Abdul Razak and Choong.

Besides the four eminent persons, the JAC also comprises the chief justice, who is the chairman; the Court of Appeal president; the chief judge of Malaya; the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak and a Federal Court judge appointed by the prime minister.

The JAC was established in 2009 to ensure unbiased selection of judicial candidates for the consideration of the prime minister, who has the final say regarding the appointment of judges to the superior courts. — Bernama