Locus standi should be relaxed in M’sia’s legal system: law expert

KOTA KINABALU – The locus standi doctrine in Malaysia’s legal system should be relaxed in order to make the federal constitution more alive, said constitutional law expert Prof Datuk Shad Saleem Faruqi.

He said one could lose simply on the technicalities of locus standi when taking up matters such as constitutional violations.

“I am worried that you may go to court and lose due to the technicality of locus standi.

“But deep down in my heart we should regard civic minded citizens as benefactors, not as busybodies.

“The way the law seems to operate today, should anyone point out that the rivers are polluted, the atmosphere is being poisoned, the trees are being cut down... you are regarded as a busybody, and the courts say that you have no locus standi.

“I think this should not be the law. I think the law should be that all of us have a duty to promote that which is right, legal and proper,” Shad said when answering a question during the Significance of Constitutional Amendments 2021 to Sabah and Sarawak webinar.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, locus standi is defined as the right to appear in court or before anybody on a given question; a right to be heard.

Shad earlier was questioned on whether East Malaysians could challenge the non-implementation of the state rights in courts.

Citing that he fully agrees with former Sabah and Sarawak chief justice Tan Sri David Wong Dak Wah’s opinion that any constitutional violation should have locus standi if any civic-minded person decides to go to the courts, should the government decide otherwise.

“I think the locus standi rules should be relaxed in our legal system. This would make our constitution more alive. You would use the genius and morale of the people rather than just rely on the government of the day, which often acts for reasons of politics, not for reason of justice,” he said.

Shad said Malaysia does not have public interest in social interest litigation and therefore, it is not surprising if the courts say that it is the rights of the state, not the rights of the litigant.

He said citizens should have the locus standi to challenge the violations of the constitution, be it in language, customs, religion, appointment of judicial commissioners and so on, which the Borneo states have lost.

“I would defend this point of view on the basis of emerging jurisprudence in many countries including India and even in the United States,” he said. – The Vibes, January 31, 2022