Piasau assemblyman to sue Putrajaya over relocation of High Court Registry
KUCHING: A Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) assemblyman will take Putrajaya to court over its decision to relocate the Office of the Registrar of the Sabah and Sarawak High Court from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu effective May 1.
Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting he would bring the matter to court.
“We are looking at the Government of Malaysia. Several people will also be named as defendants.
“The law minister is certainly one of them and we may even consider whether there is a need to include the PM because he is the one who advised the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,” he told a press conference at the (SUPP headquarters here yesterday.
“They are all inter-related, starting with the law minister because it’s a breach of the constitution,” he added.
Ting, who is SUPP secretary-general, said his party, like the majority of Sarawakians, was shocked and disappointed with the decision of the office of the Registrar of the High Court conveyed in a letter dated April 19.
Chief Registrar of the Federal Court Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar signed the letter of relocation that will take effect on May 1.
The High Court Registry has been here since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, 53 years ago, which must have been made after thorough discussions and much consultation among the then chief ministers of both Sabah and Sarawak and Malayan leaders, he said.
“The short notice of just 10 days for such an important matter does say a lot to the GPS government and the people of Sarawak.
“This is especially so after the failed proposed Federal Constitution Amendment Bill 2019 on April 9 when all the GPS members of parliament abstained from voting for it,” he said.
He quoted Article 121(4) of the Federal Constitution which states, “In determining where the principal registry of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak is to be, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act on the advice of the Prime Minister, who shall consult the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak and the Chief Judge of the High Court.”
Ting said the word here is “shall” and thus mandatory for the prime minister to consult the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak.
However, our chief minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg), in a press statement issued by his office yesterday, confirmed that he was not consulted at all, he said.
“As such there is a blatant breach of the Federal Constitution Article 121(4).”
Law Minister Datuk V K Liew in a press statement dated April 21, attempted to explain the now controversial decision on the relocation, saying there is “nothing in the law or in the Constitution which says that the Registry shall remain in Kuching forever.”
On this, Ting said Liew missed the most important point on the mandatory consultation with the chief ministers of both states and High Court judge.
“No matter how hard the law minister might want to explain his failure, he still cannot get past the fact that Sarawak chief minister was never consulted about the relocation,” he said.
