Court throws out Pejuang leader’s appeal, says Muhyiddin no longer PM
PUTRAJAYA: A Pejuang leader has failed again in his bid to challenge Attorney-General (AG) Idrus Harun over his alleged failure to advise Muhyiddin Yassin to resign as prime minister following what he described as a loss of majority support. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by Pejuang’s Kuala Lumpur…
PUTRAJAYA: A Pejuang leader has failed again in his bid to challenge Attorney-General (AG) Idrus Harun over his alleged failure to advise Muhyiddin Yassin to resign as prime minister following what he described as a loss of majority support.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by Pejuang’s Kuala Lumpur chief, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, saying the matter was academic since Muhyiddin had resigned from office last August.
Judge Hanipah Farikullah said the crux of Khairuddin’s appeal centred on the AG’s failure to advise Muhyiddin to resign.
“Muhyiddin has now resigned and the alleged failure to advise him is now academic,” she said in allowing a preliminary objection by senior federal counsel Low Wen Zhen.
Hanipah, who sat with judges Azizah Nawawi and Darryl Goon, said it was “axiomatic” that the court of law would not address an issue that had become academic or hypothetical.
“The factual circumstances in this case are such that the very basic declaration sought no longer exists,” she said.
The bench ordered Khairuddin, represented by Haniff Khatri Abdulla, to pay Idrus RM10,000 in costs.
High Court judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid had also dismissed Khairuddin’s leave application for judicial review last April on the grounds that he had no locus standi to seek the remedy.
In his application, Khairuddin claimed Idrus had failed to execute his constitutional duty in providing advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that Muhyiddin did not have the majority support of the MPs.
He sought an order to compel Idrus to advise Muhyiddin to resign.
Khairuddin pointed out that Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz had withdrawn their support for Muhyiddin and Perikatan Nasional on Jan 9 and Jan 12, 2021, respectively. Without their backing, Muhyiddin no longer enjoyed majority support, he said.
He also posed legal questions on whether Muhyiddin could still advise the King to proclaim an emergency.
Kamal said he was of the opinion that the subject matter was not amenable to judicial review. — Free Malaysia Today