Tun Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Abdul Hamid Omar

Tun Abdul Hamid Omar was born on the 25th of March 1929 in Kuala Perlis. He obtained his early education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar in 1940, which could not be completed because of the Second World War. During the war period, he was able to master the Japanese language. When the war ended, he returned to Alor Setar to continue his studies and passed his "Senior Cambridge" examination. Later, he left for London to further his studies at Lincoln's Inn and graduated as a Barrister-at-Law in England. He was called to the English Bar in November 1955.

He first entered the Malaysian Civil Service as a Magistrate in 1956 and then moved to become Deputy Public Prosecutor of Perak State (1960–1961) and then quickly moved to being State Legal Advisor of Perak (1961–1962). After a few years he was then Chief Registrar of the Federal Court (1967) and soon afterwards a High Court Judge (1968).

Tun Hamid was appointed Chief Justice of Malaya in 1985 before becoming Lord President of Malaysia in 1994. When the position of Lord President was abolished in 1994, Tun Hamid became the first Chief Justice of Malaysia. Tun Hamid retired from service on the 24th of September 1994.

In his retirement, Tun Hamid was active in both the corporate world (where he chaired several companies) and was also actively involved with various charities including the Malaysian Red Crescent Society as well as the Malaysian Leprosy Relief Association where he was elected President in 1987. He continued to serve as President of MaLRA until his demise in 2009.

Tun Hamid was bestowed several awards, which include the Malaysian Federal order Seri Setia Mahkota (Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia, or S.S.M.) which carries the title ‘Tun’ by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 7 June 1989, as well as the Panglima Setia Mahkota (Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia, or P.S.M.) and the Panglima Mangku Negara (Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia, or P.M.N.) (both P.S.M. and P.M.N. carry the title ‘Tan Sri’). Tun Hamid was also conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by the Oklahoma City University, United States in April 1997.

In early 2008 he suffered from a debilitating stroke. Tun Hamid passed away aged 80 on the 1st of September 2009 from renal failure at the Gleneagles Hospital, Kuala Lumpur.