The applications, filed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad loyalist Khairuddin Abu Hassan and lawyer Syed Iskandar Jaafar al-Mahdzar, both seek the guidance of the apex court on whether the emergency proclamation made on Jan 11 was legal and in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
Khairuddin’s lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said a Federal Court ruling would bring certainty to the applicability of emergency laws and serve as guidance to the legal fraternity.
Rafique said Judge Noorin Badaruddin will hear the application on June 23.
“We received a letter from the judge’s secretary last week that an earlier decision by Judge Mariana Yahya will be maintained,” he told FMT.
Noorin took over from Mariana, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal on April 1.
On March 5, Khairuddin filed four questions of law for Mariana to refer to the Federal Court under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act.
He had earlier filed an originating summons on Jan 18 questioning Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s legitimacy in advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare a state of emergency.
On Feb 17, Muhyiddin and the government filed an application to strike out Khairuddin’s suit on the grounds that it was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.
In the second application due to come before the High Court, Syed Iskandar is seeking a ruling on whether an amendment adding clauses 8 and 9 to Article 150 is in violation of the basic structure of the Federal Constitution
His counsel, R Kengadharan, said Mariana’s decision on March 17 to hear the referral application will be maintained following a letter from Noorin’s secretary last week.
“The referral application will be given priority and if need be, the government’s application to strike out the suit will be heard later,” he said, adding that case management is due on May 31 to determine the hearing date of the Section 84 application.
Yesterday, another High Court judge, Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, fixed July 22 to hear an application by non-governmental organisations to refer several constitutional questions on the emergency proclamation to the Federal Court.
On March 4, leave applications for judicial review filed by Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim and fellow MPs Hassan Karim (Pasir Gudang), Salahuddin Ayub (Pulai), Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani) and Tebing Tinggi assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari were dismissed on the grounds that a provision in the constitution ousted the High Court from hearing the matter.
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