KOTA KINABALU: The state government remains a party in the Sabah Law Society’s (SLS) judicial review seeking the return of 40% of federal revenue earned from Sabah.
Immediate past SLS president Datuk Roger Chin said the State Attorney General (AG) clarified this after withdrawing arguments presented by the appointed private attorney at the Court of Appeal (COA) hearing, and terminating his services in May.
He said Parti Warisan legal adviser Chin Teck Min questioned the state government’s stance on the judicial review following the Federal Court’s Oct 17 decision to dismiss the federal AG’s bid to stop SLS from being granted leave to pursue the case in the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
The Federal Court’s ruling suggested that the Sabah government had withdrawn from the proceedings before the COA hearing.
Chin said the federal AG’s application for leave to appeal against SLS’s judicial review bid did not name the Sabah government as a party, meaning the state was not required to appear before the Federal Court hearing.
He added the state’s position on the judicial review was already on record in the COA’s decision.
After the COA hearing, the Sabah AG informed the Deputy Registrar that the appointment of the private attorney had been revoked, confirming the withdrawal of all arguments presented by state-appointed counsel.
“The AG expressed satisfaction for the case to proceed to a substantive hearing to address the matter fully. The state supports SLS’s action in seeking leave for the judicial review to proceed,” Chin said.
“During the COA’s proceedings (in May), the Sabah AG withdrew only the submissions made on behalf of the state, indicating that the state remains a party to the ongoing High Court proceedings.”
On Oct 17, the Federal Court allowed SLS’ judicial application against the Federal Government for the 40% special grant to be heard by the Kota Kinabalu High Court. The three-member Federal Court bench dismissed the Federal Government’s leave application against the COA’s granting of leave to SLS.
SLS applied for a judicial review in 2022 to compel the federal government to pay Sabah its constitutional right to 40% of revenue from the state, which the Kota Kinabalu High Court granted.
The Federal Government via the AG’s Chambers appealed the decision and obtained a stay on the High Court proceedings. On June 18, the COA upheld the lower court’s decision, stating that SLS had established the threshold for locus standi in the case.
