PUTRAJAYA, May 6 -- The ability to write dissenting judgements should not be the sole yardstick in evaluating the credibility of court judges, said Malaysia's first female Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

Best remembered for two dissenting judgements she made while presiding over two high profile cases, Tengku Maimun pointed out that other evaluation metric must come into play in evaluating a judge's performance.

"And I don't think the criteria to give dissenting judgement is a criteria that is required, because to be appointed as a judge or to be promoted, the criteria is a lot. Definitely independence, ability to decide based on facts presented without taking into consideration other facts.

"That's important. Integrity and...