THE High Court ruled that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob did not need to consult Cabinet members in making a request for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve the Parliament.

Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said the prime minister is entitled to make his own decision as it is his absolute power as the premier.

He said since the dissolution of Parliament was made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the prime minister’s request under Article 42 (b) of the Federal Constitution, the need for the Cabinet advice under Article 40 (1) and Article 40(1A) of the Federal Constitution was not required.

“I am of the view that since the ultimate power to request for the resolution of the Parliament lies solely in the hands of the prime minister, the contention of the applicant challenging the validity of the request to dissolve Parliament is of no merit.

“The prime minister can make a request for the dissolution without the advice of his cabinet and ultimately the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the discretion whether to accept or reject the request,” he said.

He said this in allowing the application by Ismail Sabri, the Malaysian government and the Election Commission (EC) to strike out the incumbent Klang Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Santiago’s lawsuit which was filed on October 11.

Kamal said the court is of the view that the plaintiff (Santiago) has no reasonable cause of action against the defendants on the ground that the proclamation and dissolution of Parliament are non-justiciable subjects. 

Describing the suit as scandalous, frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process, the court ordered the plaintiff to pay RM20,000 in costs to the defendants.

Santiago in his suit sought, among others, a declaration that Ismail Sabri’s request to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last October to dissolve the 14th Parliament was in violation of Article 40(1) and (1A) of the Federal Constitution because it was not made on the advice of the Cabinet and is therefore null and void.

He also sought to stop the EC from conducting the general election due to the flood season.

Lawyer Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, who was former Chief Judge of Malaya and Mohd Hafarizam Harun together with senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan from the Attorney-General’s Chambers represented the defendants while Malik Imtiaz Sarwar acted for the plaintiff.

Kamal also dismissed a Pandan voter’s leave application for a judicial review to challenge the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of the GE during the monsoon season later this year.

Dr Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar Al Mahdzar who is also a lawyer filed the application and named the EC chairman, Ismail Sabri and the Government of Malaysia as respondents.

The judge ruled that the dissolution of Parliament is non-justiciable and is an issue to be considered a matter within the executive and legislative sphere, that should not be entertained by the judiciary with caution.

“Taking into account Articles 32 (1), 40 (2)(b) and 55 (2) of the Federal Constitution, it shows that the intention of the framers that any decision made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in respect to the dissolution of Parliament is non-justiciable in any proceedings in court.

“The issue is a non-justiciable issue and this subject matter is therefore not amenable to judicial review,” he said.

Shamsul Bolhassan represented the respondents while senior lawyer Gopal Sri Ram appeared for Syed Iskandar. – Bernama, October 28, 2022.