THE Federal Court has rejected the Attorney General’s application for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision allowing the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to pursue a full review of Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement in the High Court.
A three-member panel, led by Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, upheld the Court of Appeal's ruling, stating that leave to appeal was “not warranted” and that the matter should proceed to be heard on its substantive merits in the High Court.
"On the issue of justiciability, the Court of Appeal’s judgement is comprehensive and sets out the position clearly," said Justice Nallini in Kota Kinabalu, today.
"We see no reason to warrant the grant of leave under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act."
The other judges on the panel were Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
Justice Nallini also noted there was no prima facie for the Federal Court to be involved at this stage when arguing the merits of the AG's office on Article 128 (1) (b) as there were no disputes between the Federation and the state.
Article 128 (1)(b) refers to the exclusive jurisdiction over disputes between the federal and the state.
The AGC also used the provision to question SLS locus standi for calling the judicial review.
Nallini stated that the Sabah government is no longer a party to the proceedings, having withdrawn before the Court of Appeal hearing.
“In this case, the state of Sabah has made no claim on its behalf, so there can be no dispute between the state and the federation,” she explained.
On June 18, the Court of Appeal unanimously granted SLS leave to commence judicial review proceedings at the High Court on Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement. The AG’s office later made an application for leave to appeal the court's decision.
This came after the Kota Kinabalu High Court's decision to grant leave to SLS for the review on November 11 last year.
SLS is seeking a court declaration regarding Putrajaya’s failure to hold a second review of the state grant since 1973.
They are also seeking a declaration of the entitlement owed by the central government to Sabah for each year from 1974 to 2021.
The entitlement is stated in the Federal Constitution Article 112C and Part IV of the Tenth Schedule, with the review stipulated in Article 112D.
Senior federal counsels from the AGC, Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, acted for the federal government, while SLS was represented by counsels Dr David Fung and Jeyan T.M. Marimuttu. - October 17, 2024
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