KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 ― The High Court today dismissed a leave application by three Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers for a judicial review of the suspension of Parliament and state assembly sittings during the nationwide state of Emergency.

High Court judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said in his ruling that there was no breach of Article 150(8) of the Federal Constitution, and therefore there could be no judicial review to challenge the decision of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 150(1) and Article 150(2B) of the Constitution.

Article 150(8) states that the satisfaction of the Agong under Article 150(1) shall be "final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called into question in any court on any ground”.

The judge added that the aforementioned provisions effectively prevent any challenge or application made against the Emergency proclamation and any ordinance enacted under the Emergency law.

"Having considered the application, I am of the opinion that the subject matter of this application is not amenable to judicial review.

"It is reiterated that Article 150(8) of the Federal Constitution is valid and constitutional.

"All in all, it is my considered opinion that the applicants have failed to cross the hurdle of the judicial review test.

"As discussed above, the subject matter in this case has been settled by law. It is clear that there is no arguable case for the applicants.

"In light of the above, the application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings is dismissed with no order to cost,” he said.

The application was jointly filed by Parti Amanah Negara deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub who is also Pulai MP, PKR chief whip Datuk Johari Abdul who is also Sungai Petani MP, and Perak Opposition Leader Abdul Aziz Bari who is also Tebing Tinggi assemblyman.

The PH lawmakers were represented in court by Datuk Gurdial Nijar and Christopher Leong.

Also present were the respondents represented by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), including senior federal counsels Suzanna Atan and Narkunavathy Sundareson.

Lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail held a watching brief for the Malaysian Bar.

In their suit, the three PH elected representatives wanted the court to hear what they alleged to be unconstitutional provisions in the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, gazetted back in January that they said allowed for the suspension of Parliament and state assemblies during the Emergency.

The High Court judge also did not see an ouster clause in Article 150(8), which has the effect of excluding the jurisdiction of the court, as unconstitutional.

He said there was nothing in the Federal Constitution that imposed a legal duty on the prime minister — the first respondent named in the suit — to act in the manner dictated by the applicants.

It is unclear yet if the three PH lawmakers will be appealing today’s ruling.

Gurdial told reporters outside the courtroom after the decision that he is waiting for instructions from his clients on their next move.

In a joint statement issued later, both Gurdial and Leong described the High Court ruling as a "disappointment”, saying their clients were not accorded the opportunity to present a full and substantive argument on the matter.

"The legal threshold for grant of leave to commence judicial review proceedings is very low, that is, the Applicants only needed to show that they have arguable issues and thereafter these issues could be addressed in full and involve substantive arguments at the hearing of the judicial review itself.

"However, the High Court had instead proceeded on the basis that the ouster of the jurisdiction of the court under Article 150(8) of the Federal Constitution has validly ‘shut the court’s doors from any challenge’ of the Emergency law,” they said.

Besides the application filed by the three Opposition representatives, Opposition Leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also filed a separate application to challenge the suspension of Parliament as well.

Anwar’s suit filed on January 25 is focused on cancelling what he alleges to be unlawful advice by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to make the allegedly unconstitutional Section 14 provision in the Emergency Ordinance which suspended Parliament.

Anwar wants the courts to compel Muhyiddin and the government to advise the Agong to revoke Section 14.