New Sin Yew…State Government should support Sabah Law Society during proceedings, to protect state’s rights.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government must intervene in Putrajaya’s appeal against the high court’s decision to grant the Sabah Law Society (SLS) leave to challenge the 40% special interim grant provisions, said constitutional lawyer New Sin Yew.
New explained that the Sabah government is directly affected by the suit because the SLS’s judicial review was filed to overturn Putrajaya’s gazettement of a special five-year annual grant for Sabah in 2022, which the Sabah government had endorsed.
“Thus, the Sabah government is directly affected by the suit,” he told Scoop.
When asked if the Sabah government’s intervention in the appeal would affect SLS’s chances of success, New said it depends on the government’s stance during the proceeding.
“They (the Sabah government) should have been involved since 2022, as the order was the product of their review with the federal government. They must be there.
“(Whether it will affect SLS’s chances of getting the judicial review through), I can’t quite comment on this. It depends on the position the Sabah government takes. If they support SLS, then it will be good. If not, then it will be bad,” he said.
Regarding the justiciability of SLS’s judicial review, New opined that SLS’s argument was justiciable and there should be no problem with it.
He said SLS’s argument that the 2022 order was unconstitutional, as it violated Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution, is justiciable because the court is in a position to assess if the constitutional provisions have been followed.
“It does not require economic analysis. It is purely a constitutional interpretation,” he said.
On SLS’s locus standi, New said he believed that SLS, as legal professionals in Sabah, have a duty to uphold the cause of justice without fear or favour, thus granting them locus standi.
“It is common for Bar associations to take the government to court to ensure compliance. This has been done many times in the past. So, I would say that the SLS has standing here,” he said.
New also agreed that the federal government should provide an explanation of why the 40% entitlement had not been reviewed during the “lost years” from 1974 to 2022.
Despite being from Kuala Lumpur, New is familiar with Sabah’s fights under the federal constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963. He was one of the authors who wrote and submitted a memorandum to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, detailing the financial rights of Sabah under the Federal Constitution and the Sabah Special Grant (First Review) Order 1970.
Last Thursday (May 16), the Court of Appeal adjourned its decision on the federal government’s appeal against the leave granted to the SLS to seek a judicial review regarding the state’s 40% grant revenue.
During the hearing, Lawyer Tengku Datuk Fuad Ahmad made a “surprise” appearance in court, representing the Sabah government, to submit an intervention in the appeal.
Since then, party leaders and the people of Sabah have been questioning the Sabah government’s intention to intervene and why the Sabah government was represented by Fuad and not the Sabah attorney-general, Datuk Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Md Noor issued a statement the following day, stressing that the Sabah government is firm in fighting for Sabah’s right to receive the 40% tax revenue return but making no mention of Fuad’s appearance in court.
Nor Asiah made a similar statement yesterday after political leaders and advocates questioned her silence over the matter.
Scoop has learned that Fuad was officially appointed as the attorney to represent the Sabah government to handle the case relating to the SLS’s judicial review, and the appointment letter was issued on June 8, 2022, by the Sabah AG, Nor Asiah. – Scoop
