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PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court will hear tomorrow a request to suspend the decision of the governor of Sabah to dissolve the state assembly pending the resolution of the dispute of the “two chief ministers” between Musa Aman and Shafie Apdal.
Former Tamparuli Assemblyman Jahid @ Noordin Jahim submitted the request Tuesday with a certificate of urgency.
Their lawyer, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, said the supreme court informed them of the date of the hearing last night.
“It will be at 9 am. We have delivered the legal papers to the interested parties, ”he told FMT.
Jahid named Shafie, Speaker Syed Abas Syed Ali and Secretary of the State Assembly, Bernard J. Dalinting, as defendants.
In an immediate response, Sabah Attorney General Brenndon Keith Soh said they would oppose the request.
“We think we have good reasons to stop the suspension,” he said.
Jahid, in his request, says that Governor Juhar Mahiruddin’s decision to dissolve the 15th state assembly on July 30 should be postponed until the lawsuit is resolved.
He says the election order or notices issued by the Election Commission for the state’s 73 electoral districts should be suspended.
The EC set the nomination for Saturday and the election on September 26.
Jahid also says in his affidavit that Musa’s appeal to the Federal Court will be academic if the elections are held.
On August 26, the Federal Court, in a 2-1 majority ruling, allowed Musa’s request for permission seeking a statement that he was the legitimate Chief Minister of Sabah after the conclusion of the 15 state elections in 2018 .
Judge Abdul Rahman Sebli had said that the merit of Musa and Jahid’s appeal must be heard as the issues of law raised are of great importance.
“This should be resolved by the supreme court and cannot be left pending,” he said.
Rahman said that the people of Sabah had a right to know whether the removal of Musa was made in accordance with the Sabah constitution. Judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof agreed with Rahman.
The bank’s chairman, Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who was in the minority, said the applicants had not crossed the threshold under Section 96 of the Judicial Courts Act to have the appeal heard.
On May 9, 2018, the Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Musa won 29 seats. The opposition coalition, consisting of Shafie Warisan, DAP and PKR, won 29 seats, while Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) won two seats.
BN and STAR, who together held 31 seats in the 60-member assembly, entered a coalition government, prompting Musa to take office as chief minister on May 10.
However, two days later, five members of the Upko assembly changed their allegiance to Shafie’s camp.
Shafie was then sworn in as prime minister, prompting Musa to request a statement from the court that he was still the rightful head of government because no vote of confidence had been taken against him.
High Court Judge Yew Jen Kie relied on the Perak case to argue that Juhar had the power to remove the prime minister.
On November 28, the Court of Appeal rejected Musa’s appeal against the High Court’s decision on the grounds that Shafie now had the majority support of the assembly members.
