Tun Raus was born in a small village of Kampung Bukit, Astana Raja, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan on 4 February 1951. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Malaya in 1976 and thereafter he obtained his Master of Laws from the London School of Economic in 1987.
Tun Raus began his legal carrier in 1976 as an officer in the Judicial and Legal Service where he held various posts, including Magistrate, President of the Sessions Court, Deputy Public Prosecutor, legal Advisor to the Ministry of International Trade, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs. He had also served as the State Legal Advisor for Malacca and Kelantan. He last posting with the Judicial and legal Service was as the Treasury Solicitor with the Ministry of Finance.
Prior to his appointment as the Chief Justice, Tun Raus was instrumental in the judicial reform initiated under the stewardship of Tun Zaki. Tun Raus undertook the burden as a Managing Judge to speared managerial tasks, to oversee reforms in particular the Commercial Division of the High Court Kuala Lumpur.
As a Managing Judge, Tun Raus pioneered the setting up of the New Commercial Court (NCC). Through the NCC he devised a long-lasting and practical solution to tackling and disposing of the massive backlog of old commercial cases while simultaneously disposing new and current cases expeditiously. It is through the establishment of the NCC that commercial cases are now disposed within the timeline of 9 months. The success achieved in the setting up of the NCC paved the way for the setting up of the other specialised commercial courts.
On the international front, Tun Raus was given the honour to serve as the President of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent. Then Tun Raus was also an active participating member of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justice (CACJ).
