Hajiji, 32 others pursuing Sabah assembly dissolution appeal, says lawyer

 

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and 32 others are challenging the consent given by the governor to dissolve the state legislative assembly in July. (Bernama pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Thirty-three individuals, including current Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, are continuing with their action to challenge the consent given by state Governor Juhar Mahiruddin to dissolve the state legislative assembly in July, their lawyer said.

“They have not filed any notice of discontinuance in their bid to obtain leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling,” counsel Wilson Chang told FMT.

He said this in response to a directive by the Federal Court that those who wished to abandon their actions should file a notice of discontinuance with the documents signed by all parties.

All 33 individuals, including former chief minister Musa Aman, had filed for leave for an appeal application in the Federal Court on Sept 10.

The others include current deputy chief ministers Jeffrey Kitingan and Joachim Gunsalam, and ministers Masidi Manjun, Jahid Jahim, Mohd Arifin Arif and Ellron Alfred Angin.

There was doubt that some of the 33 applicants would not want to proceed with the appeal after Gabungan Rakyat Sabah ousted the Shafie Apdal-led Warisan government in the state election on Sept 26.

On Sept 8, the Court of Appeal had upheld a High Court ruling to refuse leave for judicial review to challenge the governor’s decision to call for a snap election.

Juhar had allowed then chief minister Shafie’s request to dissolve the house on July 30 to pave the way for the state polls.

A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Abdul Karim Jalil said there was no appealable error by judicial commissioner Leonard David Shim in refusing the leave application for judicial review on Aug 21.

It said Juhar’s decision was non-justiciable (cannot be challenged in court) and the dissolution was not amenable to judicial review.

Musa and the 32 former assemblymen took the position that Shafie could not advise the governor to dissolve the assembly as he had lost the majority support of the assemblymen.

Musa, who was then Sungai Sibuga assemblyman, attempted to form a government with the support of 32 other assemblymen, which included those who defected from PKR and DAP.

Chang said the applicants wanted to proceed with the action to set the law right as the Court of Appeal had ruled the dissolution could not be challenged irrespective of whether Shafie had advised or made a request to Juhar.

“We want the apex court to make a ruling as it involved a constitutional issue,” he said.

He said they had applied for the Dec 8 hearing before a Federal Court bench through videoconferencing to be fixed early next year.

“Since it involves a novel and complicated issue, we want to be present physically to make submissions before the judges,” he said. - FMT