KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): The High Court (Appellate and Special Powers division) has fixed for Wednesday (June 12) morning to deliver its decision on the merits of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s judicial review application to remove three members and the chairman of the Pulau Batu Puteh Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) panel, and for its proceedings to be conducted in the open.
Furthermore, judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh, who heard the matter on a certificate of urgency by Mahathir, will also decide on the former prime minister’s challenge on not being allowed to have his legal representatives present throughout the RCI proceedings.
Amarjeet fixed on Monday, to deliver his decision at 8:30am on Wednesday, as the RCI is expected to resume its proceedings, with Mahathir slated to take the stand before the seven-member panel at 9:30am.
The judicial review application was filed by Mahathir last week with a certificate of urgency, following the commission’s decision on May 21 that rejected his legal representation, and the refusal on the recusal of the RCI trio and to have proceedings held in the open.
Last week, The Edge reported that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) would be objecting to Mahathir’s leave application to file for the said judicial review.
Normally, in judicial review applications, leave (permission) has to be gained first, before the merits of the application is heard.
However, in this case, both Mahathir, and the AGC — which is objecting to the granting of leave and judicial review, agreed with Amarjeet that the court may deliver its decision on the merits of the case straight, as the issues raised by the former prime minister and the AGC are points of law.
It is extremely rare where the court may decide on the merits of the judicial review directly during the leave stage, as there was previously one other circumstance when this was made.
Mahathir, is seeking to remove former chief justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, along with commissioners Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu and Johor financial officer Datuk Muhammed Ridha Abd Kadir from the seven-member RCI panel.
This follows Mahathir’s argument of a real danger of bias with the three of them sitting on the RCI panel.
Mahathir had previously, in 2017, filed an application against Md Raus to challenge Md Raus’s appointment as an additional judge in the Federal Court, during then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s time.
Md Raus later rose to be the next chief justice and he extended his stay on the approval of the rulers by being the additional judge beyond the constitutionality requirement of retirement of 66 years and six months.
In the end, after Pakatan Harapan won the 13th general election in May 2018, with Mahathir returning as the seventh prime minister, Md Raus resigned as chief justice in July 2018, and following that, Tun Richard Malanjum replaced Md Raus.
Mahathir’s tiff with Baljit and Muhammed Ridha follows that they are also former members of the special task force (STF) on the Pulau Batu Puteh matter, led by former attorney general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, which is the subject matter of the RCI.
Apandi was removed by Mahathir as the attorney general, when Apandi refused to charge Najib following the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) debacle.
The STF findings were not made public but former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob, who initiated the STF, revealed that there was possible negligence by Mahathir when he was prime minister in 2018, to withdraw the review of the Pulau Batu Puteh decision that was made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008.
Then attorney general Tan Sri Idrus Harun also issued a statement that the Cabinet in 2023 viewed the decision to withdraw both the application for a revision of the decision on the sovereignty of Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, and the request for interpretation of the decision in the said case, to be “not in order” and “improper”.
Read also :
Closed door RCI proceedings violative of Dr M’s right to natural justice and fair procedure — lawyer
Dr M seeking disqualification of Batu Puteh RCI chief, open proceedings
AGC to oppose Dr M’s bid for RCI judicial review, says counsel
AG says Cabinet views decision to withdraw revision of Pulau Batu Puteh case as ‘not in order’