Sabah legal adviser lauds appeals court’s decision on review of 40% entitlement

THE Sabah government sees the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to conduct a substantive review of the state’s 40% special entitlement in the courts as a reaffirmation of the Federal Constitution.

Commending the decision, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s legal adviser, Datuk Brenndon Keith Soh, said the Sabah government also believes the issue should be thoroughly examined on its merits at the substantive hearing in the high court next.

“In addition, we (the Sabah government) have confirmed that we withdrew our earlier submissions made on May 16, 2024. Therefore, we did not support the federal Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) appeal against the high court’s decision to grant leave to the SLS.

“Sabah will participate as a party to the proceedings in the high court,” he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the AGC’s appeal, disagreed with the argument that SLS had no “locus standi” or that the matter was non-justiciable.

“This is a matter of high constitutional importance, and it is thus appropriate to be judicially interpreted and determined as a matter of public interest,” said Soh.

Soh maintained that while the state government is a party in the judicial review, it is also actively pursuing the 40% net revenue special grant.

Article 112C and Section 2 of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution provides that Sabah was entitled to 40% of the net revenue collected by the federal government.

Article 112D of the Federal Constitution provides, among others, for a review of the annual grant every five years.

Former Sabah Law Society president Datuk Roger Chin said while the legal journey is still long, it is a relief that the first hurdle of the judicial review has been crossed.

“We can now proceed to the substantive hearing. SLS may provide further explanations on the Court of Appeal’s decision and outline the steps ahead as the case proceeds, as and when the need arises,” he said.

The appellate judges, Datuk Ravinthran A/L N. Paramaguru, Datuk Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali, and Datuk Choo Kah Sing, heard the appeal on May 16, 2024, in open court and delivered their decision today via an online video hearing in the presence of counsel for the parties.

Senior federal counsels Shamsul Bolhassan, Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and federal counsel Krishna Priya Veenagopal appeared for the federal attorney-general.

David Fung Yin Kee and Jeyan Marimuttu appeared for the Sabah Law Society while Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof (state attorney-general) and Soh appeared for the Sabah government. – June 18, 2024