[UPDATED] Anwar granted leave to challenge Muhyiddin’s emergency orders: apex court

KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and four others have succeeded in their leave application for judicial review to challenge the proclamation of emergency and ordinances, issued on the advice of then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last year.

This follows the Federal Court’s decision today to grant leave for a challenge to the five elected representatives after their initial applications at two lower courts were dismissed last year.

Justice Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, who led a three-person bench, delivered a two-to-one decision after considering the arguments by both counsels in a hearing that was held via Zoom. The dissenting judge was Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof.

Nallini said she and fellow judge Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat were of the view that the leave applied by the five lawmakers was warranted as they related to matters of public importance and novelty.

“As the decision of the courts below impacts the public considerably, we are also of the view that they are not academic,” she said in delivering her judgement.

The five lawmakers had challenged Muhyiddin’s advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare a state of emergency during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the suspension of Parliament.

The emergency had been in effect between January 12 and August 1, 2021.

The four others who filed for leave for judicial review today are Pulai MP Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Sg Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim and Tebing Tinggi assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari.

On April 22 last year, the high court here had rejected a judicial review application by Anwar, on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction to hear it based on Article 150(6) and 150(8) of the federal constitution.

On November 24, the appellate court similarly dismissed an appeal filed by the five lawmakers, claiming it cannot intervene due to an ouster clause and declared the emergency proclamation valid.

Following this, Anwar and the others filed a fresh application for leave to appeal the decision to the Federal Court.

Hearing at apex court not academic

Earlier during the hearing, lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, who represented Anwar, argued that although the emergency proclamation has been lifted, it is vital for the matter to be allowed to be deliberated at the apex court as a precedent for the future, as it involves public interests.

“As such, it would be to the benefit of the public to get a confirmative decision by the court,” he said while dismissing an argument by Liew Horng Bin, who represented the government, that any opinion of the court would be academic and advisory in nature.

“In the event that a leave is granted today, and the emergency is later found to be wrongly declared or the advice (to the Agong) was wrongly given, it will also affect various legislations passed during the emergency, which would result in individuals taking legal action.

“The matter cannot be said to be academic at this stage,” Ramkarpal said.

Senior lawyer Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar, who acted on behalf of the other four lawmakers, also disagreed that deliberation of the emergency declaration and its ordinances at the apex court would be academic, as it could have far-reaching consequences.

“Emergencies occur from time to time. We are still at a stage where the government is slowly easing (Covid-19) restrictions. Therefore, we say that it is very important to discuss this matter.” – The Vibes, May 23, 2022