A five-member Federal Court bench today unanimously allowed the appeals brought by Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim and Perak state assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the panel, said both applicants had met the threshold for judicial review.

“The orders of the courts below (High Court and Court of Appeal) are set aside. We remit this matter to the High Court for the substantive application to be heard,” she said.

Today’s ruling means that the High Court will not be prevented from hearing the case on its merits despite the presence of a clause in Article 150(8) of the Federal Constitution.

Tengku Maimun, who sat with Justices Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Nallini Pathmanathan, Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Rhodzariah Bujang, said Hassan and Aziz’s case would be heard by a judge in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The bench also fixed the matter for case management in the High Court on July 31.

In March 2021, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed an application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings jointly brought by Aziz, then opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and former Sungai Petani and Pulai MPs Johari Abdul and Salahuddin Ayub.

Hassan’s application, brought separately, was dismissed by the Johor Bahru High Court the following month.

On Nov 24, 2021, the Court of Appeal dismissed both appeals.

However, in a split decision a year later, the Federal Court allowed their leave applications.

Last year, Anwar, who is now prime minister, and Johari, now Dewan Rakyat Speaker, withdrew their appeals, while Salahuddin died on July 23 last year.

Hassan and Aziz, the only remaining applicants, are seeking a declaration by the court that the decision by Muhyiddin’s Cabinet to advise Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to promulgate an emergency and suspend Parliament and all state legislatures was unconstitutional, unlawful, and ultra vires the Federal Constitution.