Lawyer Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin said the five-year term of the state legislative assembly would come to an end in 2023.
“The last state election was held only two years ago. Why go for another election during the present Covid-19 period,” said the lawyer who was appearing for former chief minister and incumbent Sungai Sibuga assemblyman Musa Aman and 32 elected representatives from the state.
Judges Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Abu Bakar Jais and Supang Lian are hearing the case.
The 33 are appealing against the dismissal of their leave for judicial review by the High Court on Aug 21 following Sabah governor Juhar Mahiruddin’s consent to dissolve the state assembly.
Firoz said caretaker chief minister Shafie Apdal had no right to advise or request the governor to dissolve the assembly on July 29 as he had lost the majority support of the 65 assemblymen (elected and appointed).
“Musa had submitted statutory declarations from 33 assemblyman to the Istana and had gathered to meet the governor (on July 29),” he said, adding that they were told to return the following day.
However, Firoz said, at about 11pm on July 29, Shafie had an audience with the governor and the following day, the head of state signed a proclamation to dissolve the house.
“The governor should have exercised his discretion when Shafie no longer enjoyed the support of the majority of the assemblymen,” he said, adding that Musa had the numbers to replace Shafie.
He said leave must be given as this was a subject matter that the court had jurisdiction to hear and decide after hearing the merit of the case.
“This matter involves constitutional issues. The governor must exercise his constitutional discretion to deal with the issues and not become a mere rubber stamp,” he said.
On Aug 21, judicial commissioner Leonard David Shim of the Kota Kinabalu High Court struck out the leave application for judicial review on the grounds that the governor’s actions were not justiciable in a court of law.
He added that there was a precedent in 1986 when the then governor Adnan Robert had granted a dissolution of the legislative assembly within one year from the date of the previous state election following a request by the then chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
“This court could take judicial notice of this undisputed fact,” he said in his judgment.
Shim said the court found that Shafie had acted within his constitutional right in asking Juhar to dissolve the state legislative assembly.
He also said Juhar had acted within the ambit of his power in dissolving the assembly.
Sabah Attorney-General Brenndon Keith Soo, representing the governor, and Cyrus Das, appearing for Shafie and the state government, are now submitting that the dissolution of assembly by the governor is not subject to challenge.
FMT has observed that some of the 33 men, who included Musa are in and outside the courtroom.