PUTRAJAYA, May 4 — The Court of Appeal has dismissed a lawyer’s appeal challenging the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s refusal of the then-prime minister’s request to declare a state of emergency five years ago.
A three-man bench led by Federal Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, sitting with Court of Appeal judges Datuk Supang Lian and Datuk Alwi Abdul Wahab today, upheld the High Court’s ruling that His Majesty's decision cannot be reviewed by the court.
Justice Sequerah said that Article 150(8) of the Federal Constitution states that such matters are non-justiciable and that the court is barred from inquiring into them.
The provision requires the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be satisfied that a grave emergency exists, and that such satisfaction “shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any ground”.
He added that it is for the executive to advise His Majesty on whether the circumstances existed to justify declaring an emergency.
The court could not exercise its judicial power over matters of national security, as policy-related issues such as national security, foreign relations, public order, and morality are beyond the judiciary's institutional competence.
On February 15, 2024, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar Al Mahdzar’s originating summons, which, among others, sought the court’s determination on whether, under Articles 40 and 150 of the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the authority to refuse to declare a state of emergency even if advised to do so by the Prime Minister or the Cabinet.
Then-High Court judge Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh (now Chief Justice) ruled that Article 150(8) does not violate the basic structure of the Federal Constitution and cannot be struck down under Article 40(1), which states that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act on the advice of the Cabinet.
Iskandar filed the suit in November 2020, naming the government and 10 others as the defendants.
At the Court of Appeal proceedings today, he was represented by lawyers T. Gunaseelan and R. Kengadharan, while senior Federal counsel Liew Horng Bin represented the government. Lawyer Datuk Bastian Pius Vendargon appeared for the Malaysian Bar as amicus curiae.
