PRESS RELEASES
By Roger Chin
Immediate Past President
Sabah Law Society
Federal Court Rejects Attorney-General’s Appeal
KOTA KINABALU : – In a landmark decision, the Federal Court today unanimously rejected the Federal Attorney-General’s (AG) application to appeal against granting leave to the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to pursue its judicial review of Sabah’s 40% constitutional entitlement. 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.
SLS contends that both the Federal and Sabah state governments failed to conduct the mandatory second review under Article 112D by 1974, delaying it by a staggering 48 years. This delay, SLS argues, has resulted in substantial financial losses for Sabahans, who were deprived of rightful payments during these “Lost Years.”
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 Tan Sri Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Dato’ Zabariah Binti Mohd Yusof, and Dato Rhodzariah Binti Bujang, decisively upheld the previous rulings of the High Court and Court of Appeal, allowing SLS to proceed.
Representing the AG were Senior Federal Counsels Shamsul bin Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir bin Hambaly @ Arwi, along with Federal Counsels Kogilambigai a/p Muthusamy and Liyana binti Muhammad Fuad. David Fung Yin Kee, Jeyan Marimuttu, and Janice Junie Lim appeared for SLS.
The court was clear – the AG’s argument that this matter fell under the Federal Court’s exclusive jurisdiction under Article 128(1)(b) failed to hold. The judges found that, at this stage, no dispute exists between Sabah and the Federation that would trigger such jurisdiction. They further affirmed that SLS has the standing necessary to bring this matter to judicial review.
In a striking statement, the court noted, “As there is no prima facie case to establish exclusive jurisdiction under Article 128(1)(b), and as SLS possesses threshold standing, there is no need to grant leave for this appeal. The issue of standing, if necessary, can be revisited during the substantive review.”
On justiciability, the court ruled decisively that the failure to review Sabah’s Special Grant is a matter of law, not policy—closing the door on any further appeals on this point.
With this resounding win, the judicial review will now proceed to its next phase, where the merits of the case will be evaluated by the High Court in Kota Kinabalu. A case management session has been scheduled for 30 October 2024, 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 to provide updates on this critical case.
