Appointment of judges: Sabah Law Society seeks to join hearing

PETALING JAYA: The Sabah Law Society (SLA) has applied to be an amicus curiae (friend of the court) to follow proceedings in a legal challenge over the reappointments of the country's top two judges.Its President, Brenndon Keith Soh, said SLA filed the application in the Kuching High Court to obtain permission to participate in the case, brought separately by the Malaysian Bar and Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS).

(An amicus curiae is someone who is not a party to a case but who assists the court by offering information that has bearing on the case. The decision on whether to admit the information is up to the court.)

"We want to be the amicus curiae in the proceedings filed by the AAS and, as such, need the green light from the High Court in Kuching," he told FMT.

SLS' application will be heard on Friday.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Electrifying windows of opportunity in Sabah - The right policies, collaborations, and strategies can turn emerging opportunities into victories for all parties in Sabah.

CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor’s 2021 Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya Plan and the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) have laid out a road map to an exciting future for all Sabahans, with a target of increasing Sabah’s income levels and GDP per capita from about RM 23,000 to about RM 40,000 by 2030.

The AAS filed an application in the Kuching High Court on Dec 27 seeking an order to remove Chief Justice Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin from their positions.

The suits by AAS and the Malaysian Bar have been referred directly to the Federal Court, which will hear the matter on March 14.

AAS named former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, Raus, Zulkefli and the Malaysian government as defendants.

It is seeking these declarations:

that Arifin's proposal to the king on March 30 last year to make Raus and Zulkefli additional judges under Article 122 (1A) of the Federal Constitution is unconstitutional and void;

that the government's July 7 announcement that Raus and Zulkefli would be made "additional judges" is also unconstitutional;

that Raus and Zulkefli's appointments as chief justice on Aug 4 and Court of Appeal president on Sept 28 respectively are null and void;

On Oct 10, the Malaysian Bar also sought similar declarations as those requested by AAS.

Last week, lawyer Steven Thiru said the Bar would file a motion seeking the establishment of a special panel of retired judges to decide if the reappointments of Raus and Zulkefli were constitutional.

He said this step was being taken as there was no indication that Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM) Ahmad Maarop would advise the king to appoint ex-judges for the sole purpose of determining the legal status of Raus and Zulkefli.

Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.

Daily Express Malaysia

Steven said the Bar wrote to the CJM last August that at least nine retired judges be appointed but there was no reply.

The Federal Court had fixed March 2 to hear the motion.

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00