High Court dismisses legal challenges by lawmakers, the Malaysian Bar and Bersih 2.0 against Muhyiddin’s 2021 advice to suspend Parliament
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today dismissed legal actions brought by two lawmakers, the Malaysian Bar, Bersih 2.0 and seven others challenging former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to suspend Parliament during the COVID-19 emergency period in 2021.
In a decision delivered via Zoom, Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, ruled that the court could not grant the declarations sought to invalidate provisions of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, including Section 14, which resulted in the suspension of Parliament.
Judge Aliza said that despite questions as to whether the revocation must be submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) and Parliament, the constitutional timeline under Article 150(7) of the Federal Constitution must be applied to the relevant instruments of revocation.
“The declaratory relief sought by the applicants is at the court’s discretion. The respondents (the government) argued that these questions are academic, as the emergency ordinances have ceased to operate,” she said.
Judge Aliza said the court should not use the declarations to reopen the effect of parliamentary proceedings or pronounce upon the validity of the advice given to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“I am of the opinion that Article 150(3) and Article 150(7) require legal construction in an appropriate live case,” she said.
Judge Aliza said that, in the present case, however, the declarations sought by the applicants are tied to the past revocation, expiry and parliamentary treatment of the emergency ordinances.
“This court is not persuaded that the declaratory relief sought by the applicants and the plaintiffs should be granted.
“Therefore, the applicants’ judicial review applications and the plaintiffs’ originating summonses are dismissed with no order as to costs,” she added.
The judicial review applications were filed separately by Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament Hassan Abdul Karim and Perak state assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari, as well as two originating summons filed separately by the Malaysian Bar and Bersih 2.0 with seven others, which also challenge the emergency proclamation.
They sought a court declaration that the decision by the Cabinet, led by Muhyiddin, to advise the then 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to promulgate Section 14 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, which had resulted in the suspension of Parliament, is unconstitutional, unlawful, has no effect and is ultra vires.
Counsel Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, Abdullah Abdul Rahman and Abraham Au represented the two lawmakers and the other applicants, while Federal Counsel Zulkiefli Sulaiman represented the prime minister at the material time and the government.
