Kuala lumpur: The government is moving to strike out an originating summons filed by five opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government concerning the Malaysia-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART). Senior federal counsel Nurhafizza Azizan informed High Court Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh during a case management session that the application to strike out the summons will be submitted, requesting a minimum of two weeks for preparation.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, S Karthigesan, one of the lawyers representing the opposition MPs, stated that his clients are considering reviewing and potentially expanding the constitutional questions they plan to refer to the Federal Court under the ART. This decision comes in light of a recent US Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. "We need at least a week to review the US Supreme Court's 170-page judgment and prepare the questions," Karthigesan said. The court has scheduled the next case management for March 16.
Following the proceedings, another lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, informed the media that although the proposed questions under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 were previously finalised, recent developments necessitate a reassessment. Last Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled that former US President Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on nearly all trading partners was unconstitutional. The apex court upheld the lower court's findings, stating that Trump exceeded his presidential powers under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act by imposing extensive global tariffs, including fentanyl-related duties on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico.
The Malaysia-US ART was signed on October 26, 2025. The five Perikatan Nasional MPs who filed the summons are Datuk Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Fathul Huzir Ayob (Gerik), Datuk Awang Solahuddin Hashim (Pendang), Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah), and Datuk Abdul Khalid Abdullah (Rompin). They are seeking a Federal Court ruling on critical constitutional issues regarding the agreement's validity, which they argue was signed without appropriate parliamentary approval.