PUTRAJAYA (March 10): The apex court will hear Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's appeal on whether the courts can adjudicate on policy matters, specifically funds already earmarked for parliamentary constituencies.

A three-member panel consisting of Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan, Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah unanimously granted leave (permission) for arguments to be fully ventilated, as the matter passed the threshold required by the law.

For civil cases such as this, applicants must first obtain leave before the actual appeal is heard. Leave is granted to cases which, among others, contain novel questions of law and are of public importance.

Following Tuesday's decision, the apex court will now set a date for full arguments to be heard. If Syed Saddiq succeeds, the matter will be sent back to the High Court.

The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) co-founder's case concerns outstanding allocations for his constituency, which were on hold after he withdrew his support for the unity government in September 2023.

This was part of the party's response to the withdrawal of all 47 charges faced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his criminal trial.

Besides Syed Saddiq, three other Muar voters who are also community leaders are the applicants in this case. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government are named as the respondents.

The High Court and the appellate court's decision had denied leave to commence the legal action, on the grounds that it was not filed within the stipulated three-month period.

Among the three questions of law allowed by the Federal Court on Tuesday were when the three-month period begins, and whether it includes a review by the public authority.

The other questions concern the justiciability of government policy such as the allocation of funds.

During submissions on Tuesday, lawyer Lim Wei Jiet argued that Syed Saddiq's case differed from former Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj's case, which is often cited in matters of parliamentary allocation.

In the Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) leader's case, the courts had decided that matters of parliamentary allocation were not justiciable.

The lawyer from Lim Wei Jiet Advocates & Solicitors argued that Jeyakumar's case was based on a general fund allocated for all constituents, and the Executive were to decide which areas were more deserving recipient.

"In [Syed Saddiq's] case, [the funds were] already allocated and expended. The moment he declared no support, monies already earmarked for certain projects had been halted.

"The federal government may have discretion to allocated funding, but in this case, the funds were already allocated.

Lim added that there were also elements of bad faith, as the constituency next to Muar received their allocations. Hence, he said that they also wanted to seek clarification if such government decisions can be adjudicated in the court of law as it breached the right of equality guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

"It is advantageous to the public for the Federal Court to clarify where the law stands," he argued.

Senior federal counsel Nurhafizza Azizan countered that leave should not be granted, as the court has already decided in cases — such as this — that policy issues are not justiciable.

In the judicial review challenge, the politician said that RM500,000 out of a total RM1.7 million previously allocated by the government had yet to be paid to his constituency. The monies were to fund charitable programmes, welfare of the constituents, and natural disaster aid. He noted that the constituency had received a total of RM1.5 million from various allocations up until Sept 10, 2023.

He added that the government had also cancelled a separate allocation of RM230,300, for which he had applied and had been approved under the MyKhas allocation system. These funds were among others meant for renovations and repair works of schools and mosques.

Syed Saddiq also claims that his access as an MP to the MyKhas system to apply for allocations for Muar has been revoked.

Speaking to the press following Tuesday's decision, Syed Saddiq confirmed that following some back and forth, only operational costs were released, and even then, it happened two years after the funds were paused.

He added that welfare and developments funds — for renovations of houses of worship and schools, for example — were still frozen.  

When asked how he was funding projects on the ground, the 33-year-old said it was through his part-time gigs.

"People make fun of me, which is perfectly fine. I take it in good faith.

"But it really has helped me a lot; like recently, just last weekend, I went down to Muar and we were able to distribute 100 quality iPads.

"And through my collaboration with PrimaValet, we topped RM6 million. I mean, which government will give me that amount of money?

"We distributed 50,000 baju raya [...] and 10,000 food bank [packs]. Each food bank [pack] is expensive, it’s between RM100 and RM150.

"So these are things which matter," he said, adding that he didn't mind the jibes at him, as long as he can fund his constituency.

Syed Saddiq, along with local celebrity Bella Astillah who is rumoured to be his romantic interest, are brand ambassadors for PrimaValet.

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Syed Saddiq fails to reinstate legal bid over Muar constituency allocation