KUALA LUMPUR (March 4): The High Court today ordered the parties involved to submit further written submissions by March 11 with regard to the judicial review application by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the suspension of parliamentary sittings during the Emergency period.

Anwar’s lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said Justice Datuk Mariana Yahya ordered additional submissions after hearing oral submissions by both parties.

In the application, Anwar named Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Malaysian government as  respondents.

"Parties submitted before Yang Arif Datuk Mariana Yahya by way of Zoom application, and the learned judge directed parties to file additional submissions on or before March 11 on a few matters that arose during the hearing.

"As such, the learned judge fixed March 11 for case management by Zoom at 10am for the purpose of ensuring all necessary submissions are filed by then. It is likely that a date for [the] decision will be fixed on that day," Ramkarpal said in a statement to the media. 

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which is representing Muhyiddin and the government, objected to the leave for judicial review sought by Anwar, on grounds that the application was disallowed by Articles 150 (6) and 150 (8) of the Federal Constitution, senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly told Bernama. 

On Jan 26, Anwar initiated the filing of the judicial review application to seek leave in declaring that the advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to suspend Parliament sittings during the Emergency period was unconstitutional.

Ramkarpal clarified then that the application was not to challenge the Emergency proclamation but the decision by the prime minister, through his Cabinet, to advise the King to approve Section 14 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 that suspends Parliament sitting for the duration of the Emergency.

Anwar added that the advice given by the Cabinet to the King to declare an Emergency for the first time in October – which was refused by the monarch – was nothing more than a ruse to save Muhyiddin's post as prime minister, and indicated that there already were sufficient measures then and now under the existing law to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides Anwar, another judicial review application against the suspension of Parliament has been filed by three opposition lawmakers, namely Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, PKR chief whip Datuk Johari Abdul, and Perak Opposition Leader and DAP assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari.