Former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin, passed away early Friday morning at the age of 91.
The first time I met Allahyarham Tun personally was when he came to Miri in 1997 (pic above), where I was posted when I first joined the judiciary. It was a historic visit, and you can imagine how hard everyone worked to make sure everything went smoothly and the visit would be a memorable one.
My encounters with Allahyarham Tun became more frequent after I was transferred back to KL in 1998. And here's one story I often tell...
It was the 1999 Judges' Conference in Lumut. I was then the special officer to the Chief Registrar, Datuk Ramly Ali. One evening, during some downtime, we were told that the Chief Justice wanted to visit a place he had heard about. I think it was Teluk Rubiah Resort.
The problem was, nobody seemed to know exactly where it was.
We met at the car park and Datuk Ramly suddenly said, "Zul, you drive."
Alamak.
This was pre-GPS days.
So I got into his Perdana and started driving, with Allahyarham Tun's car and a couple of other judges following behind. Funnily enough, I don't remember there being any police escorts then.
Terketar kaki.
I just followed the signboards and hoped for the best. Eventually, we turned into what seemed like a rather jungly area. And throughout the drive, one thought kept going through my head:
"Where the heck am I taking the Chief Justice of Malaysia?"
Somehow, we found the place.
My boss just laughed.
But honestly, throughout that drive I really thought my head was on the chopping block — or, at the very least, I was going to get transferred somewhere like Kuala Krai or something.
Looking back, it's one of those little memories from my days in the judiciary that has stayed with me all these years.
Al-Fatihah buat Allahyarham Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin. May Allah place him among the righteous.
