Kuala lumpur: The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) today objected to an application by two men seeking leave for a judicial review to challenge the decision by the Prime Minister, the government, and three Cabinet ministers to remove and retarget diesel subsidies in Peninsular Malaysia on June 10, 2024.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Senior federal counsel Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali contended that the decision to end the subsidies cannot be challenged through judicial review, as the matter is not governed by any written law. He argued that subsidies are a form of financial assistance and a policy decision, not a legal right that the court can adjudicate. He further stated that the court need not examine the issue since it had become academic after diesel prices and subsidy methods were standardised nationwide on July 1 of the previous year.
The application for leave to commence judicial review was filed on October 7, 2024, by Azhani Marlan a Abd Halim, 49, and Mohd Hatta Sanuri, 50. They named Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, former Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, and the government as the first to sixth respondents. The two men are seeking a declaration that the defendants' decision on June 9, 2024, to scrap the diesel subsidy and set the retail price at RM3.35 per litre, up from RM2.15, is null and void in law. The move took effect on June 10, 2024, in Peninsular Malaysia, with Sabah and Sarawak exempted.
Meanwhile, the applicants' lawyer Mohaji Selamat argued that the decision is amenable to judicial review because it involves neither national security nor any specific prerogative power that is ordinarily non-justiciable. He cited Article 8 of the Federal Constitution and Section 6(2)(g) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961, emphasizing that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection. He questioned why people in Peninsular Malaysia were denied the subsidy while Sabah and Sarawak received unlimited subsidies at the time.
Mohaji contended that the issue should not be dismissed as academic merely because the government is restoring diesel subsidies in Peninsular Malaysia in stages. He argued that a judicial review application can still proceed even if the decision being challenged has been withdrawn or altered, as the impact from the decision from June 10, 2024, until July 1, 2026, does not vanish simply because the subsidy has been reinstated.
After hearing submissions from both sides, Judge Norliza Othman fixed November 16 for the decision on the application for leave to commence judicial review.