To meet the threshold set under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, Syed Iskandar has framed seven questions of law for determination by the apex court.
Leave to appeal is granted only where a case raises novel constitutional or legal issues of public importance that have not previously been decided.
Lawyer R Kengadharan said the cause papers were filed at the Federal Court registry last Friday.
In his notice of motion, Syed Iskandar seeks, among others, a determination of whether constitutional amendments made under Article 159 may be challenged if they violate the basic structure of the Federal Constitution.
He also asks whether Article 150(8), an ouster clause that limits judicial scrutiny of emergency proclamations, is itself constitutional.
Another question posed is whether the exercise of emergency powers is entirely non-justiciable or remains amenable to judicial review on grounds such as bad faith and other considerations.
The application comes after the Court of Appeal on May 4 ruled that emergency proclamations issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong are not subject to judicial review because such matters fall outside the courts’ jurisdiction.
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Article 150 requires the king to be satisfied that a grave emergency exists, and provides that such satisfaction “shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any ground”.
He said it is for the executive to advise the king as to whether circumstances exist that warrant the issuance of an emergency proclamation.
In dismissing Syed Iskandar’s appeal, the Court of Appeal bench, which also comprised Justices Supang Lian and Alwi Abdul Wahab, held that Article 150(8) was deliberately framed to oust the jurisdiction of the courts.
Sequerah further observed that policy-laden matters involving the security of the federation, relations with foreign states, public order, and morality fall beyond the institutional competence of the judiciary.
The legal challenge originated on Oct 30, 2020, when Syed Iskandar filed an originating summons seeking the High Court’s determination as to whether then‑king Al‑Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah’s refusal to proclaim an Emergency, despite advice from the prime minister at the time, was unconstitutional.
In an affidavit supporting the action, he argued that the king, by declining to act on the advice of then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet, had not exercised his constitutional functions in accordance with Articles 40 and 150.
On Oct 23, 2020, Muhyiddin advised the king to issue an emergency proclamation under Article 150 after the Cabinet approved the proposal at a special meeting.
Two days later, following a special meeting of the Malay Rulers, the king announced that there was no necessity for an Emergency, whether nationwide or in any part of the country.
On Feb 15, 2024, then High Court judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, the current chief justice, ruled that Syed Iskandar’s application was not justiciable.
Syed Iskandar subsequently appealed the decision, naming the government and Muhyiddin as respondents. He failed in the Court of Appeal, giving rise to the present application.