March 1 decision on bid to commence action over govt response to Covid

 

The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) and three doctors will know on March 1 whether they obtain court leave to proceed with legal action to compel the government to answer questions over steps it had taken to curb Covid-19 in Malaysia.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today set the decision date over the judicial review leave application by PPIM treasurer Tengku Faedzah Raja Fuad, as well as the three doctors - Dr Hafiz Sulaiman, Dr Roland Victor Aloysius Victor and Dr Sani Ashari.

The government’s legal representative, senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, confirmed the decision date was fixed, following a hearing of the judicial review leave application earlier today.

“Earlier (today) was the hearing of the (application for) leave for judicial review. The decision is on March 1,” the SFC said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

If leave is granted, the High Court would later set a date to hear submissions from parties over the merits of the judicial review proper.

On April 27 last year, the media reported that PPIM and the three doctors filed the judicial review bid, which listed three respondents - the federal government, the Health Ministry and the ministry’s director-general.

The three applicants’ counsel Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos claimed that PPIM on Jan 20 last year had sent to the ministry queries from the public and that the ministry allegedly had yet to respond.

"We are seeking the government to respond to this and stop the spread of fake news.

"The judicial review is filed as a matter of public interest," the lawyer was reported to have said during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in relation to the legal action.

No response to public queries

It was reported that through court documents, PPIM and the three doctors contended they were affected by the respondents’ alleged non-response to the public queries listed in a letter written on Jan 20 last year.

Among the reported contents of the letter are questions over what steps were taken to identify Covid-19, implementation of vaccine procurement, use of other types of medicines to treat the viral infection, as well as a government-imposed limit on the number of congregants allowed into mosques.

It was also reported that PPIM lead activist Nadzim Johan said the government needed to respond to the queries, in order to inform the people on what actions the authorities have implemented to battle the spread of the pandemic in the country.

He reportedly claimed that inconsistency on the government's part concerning the regulations had led to the people "paying the price." - Mkini