KOTA KINABALU: It is a win for the Sabah Law Society (SLS) after the federal Attorney General failed its application to appeal against leave granted to the society to pursue a review of Sabah’s 40% constitutional entitlement.
Its immediate past president Datuk Roger Chin said the AG’s failure allowed the society’s judicial review to proceed to its next phase, where the merits of the case will be evaluated by the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
He said case management has been scheduled for Oct 30 where directions for the next steps will be issued.
“This ruling is a significant step forward for SLS and the people of Sabah in seeking overdue justice and fair compensation. SLS will continue providing updates on this critical case,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 17).
On Thursday, the Federal Court denied the federal AG's application for leave to appeal the society’s judicial review application, stating that it had the locus standi to seek the judicial review application over the state's entitlement to 40% of grant revenue.
A three-member panel led by Justice Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan decided that the Kota Kinabalu High Court could hear the judicial review.
Calling this a landmark decision, Chin said this critical review challenges a 2022 Federal Government Order, issued under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution, regarding Sabah's special grant.
The entitlement, rooted in Article 112C, has long been overdue, he said.
“SLS contends that both the Federal and Sabah governments failed to conduct the mandatory second review under Article 112D by 1974, delaying it by a staggering 48 years,” he said.
“This delay has resulted in substantial financial losses for Sabahans, who were deprived of rightful payments during these ‘lost years’,” said Chin.
He said the AG’s appeal relied on four key legal questions, focusing on whether SLS’s application fell under the Federal Court’s exclusive jurisdiction, whether SLS had the standing to bring the review, and whether the matter was even justiciable.
Despite these arguments, the court, led by Justice Nallini, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, decisively upheld the previous rulings of the High Court and Court of Appeal, allowing the society to proceed, he said.
Representing the AG were Senior Federal Counsels Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, along with Federal Counsels Kogilambigai a/p Muthusamy and Liyana Muhammad Fuad.
David Fung Yin Kee, Jeyan Marimuttu, and Janice Junie Lim appeared for SLS.
Chin said the court was clear on the AG’s argument that this matter fell under the Federal Court’s exclusive jurisdiction under Article 128(1)(b) and failed to hold.
The judges found that, at this stage, no dispute exists between Sabah and the Federation that would trigger such jurisdiction and further affirmed that SLS has the standing necessary to bring this matter to judicial review.
