June 18 decision on govt's appeal over Sabah's 40pct revenue legal challenge

The appellate court today fixed June 18 for the decision on the federal government’s appeal against the leave granted to the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to seek a judicial review regarding the state’s 40 percent grant revenue.

Court of Appeal judges Ravinthran N Paramaguru, Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, and Choo Kah Sing set the date during case management held online today.

The federal government is appealing against the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s decision on Nov 11, 2022, to grant SLS leave to seek judicial review regarding the matter to compel the return of 40 percent of federal revenue earned from the state according to the Federal Constitution.

On Nov 11, 2022, Justice Ismail Brahim granted SLS’s application for leave for the judicial review ruling that SLS had locus standi for judicial review as it was a public interest litigation.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers obtained a stay order to stop the High Court from hearing the merits of the case pending the appeal.

SLS filed the judicial review application in 2022, to overturn the federal government’s gazette of an RM125.6 million annual grant for Sabah, claiming that it violated the state’s revenue rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Sabah State Attorney-General Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof said she appeared for the Sabah government in the proceedings together with special legal adviser to the chief minister Brenndon Keith Soh, and state government counsels Devina Teo and Roland Alik.

“The Court of Appeal was informed that Messrs FT Ahmad & Co has ceased to act for the state government of Sabah and that the State Attorney-General’s Chambers has taken over the full conduct and care of the matter,” she said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

Submissions retracted

Nor Asiah said having scrutinised and reviewed the matter and the proceedings that have taken place, the Court of Appeal was informed of several subsequent positions by the state government.

As the state government did not appeal against the decision of the High Court dated Nov 11, 2022, the state government accepts the outcome as granted namely, that leave be granted for the matter to be ventilated on the merits at the substantive hearing of the judicial review application.

In addition, she said the state government retracts all submissions made in the Court of Appeal on the issue of locus standi of the SLS as this was not advanced nor submitted in the High Court by the state government.

The state government also retracts the submission made in the Court of Appeal referring to Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution as being “an aspiration” and not a mandatory or absolute right of the state of Sabah.

Nor Asiah said the Court of Appeal had recorded these positions.

“I assure the public that the State Attorney-General’s Chambers is fully committed and will continue to remain steadfast for the people of Sabah to uphold the state of Sabah’s constitutional rights as outlined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution,” she said.

- Bernama