In his speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2026 on Monday, Chief Justice of Malaysia Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said that the number of court cases in Malaysia had surged in the past few years by about 60 per cent.
He cited how criminal case registrations had risen from 1,522,005 cases in 2021 to 2,486,567 cases in November 2025, a 63.4 per cent increase. Meanwhile, civil case registrations rose from 303,335 cases to 483,933 cases in the same period, a 59.5 per cent increase.
Wan Ahmad noted that the figures “reflect a structural trend rather than a temporary surge”.
“[But] looking at it positively, a more litigious society is a society that has faith in its judiciary,” he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
But Wan Ahmad Farid warned against the high volume and complexity of court cases compared to the current number of judges, which currently stands at 482.