PUTRAJAYA — The hearing before the Federal Court of an appeal by 16 former UMNO members against the High Court and Court of Appeal’s dismissal of their bid for leave to initiate a judicial review to challenge the legality of the political party is maintained on May 5.
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, representing the group, however, said the hearing would proceed if the Movement Control Order (MCO), now in its third phase, is not extended.
The third phase of the MCO ends on April 28.
He said the court has also extended the deadline to April 30 for parties to file their respective submissions.
According to Mohamed Haniff Khatri, the date was fixed by the court in November last year and a case management was conducted via E-Review today before Federal Court deputy registrar Sakinah Mohamad Pauzi.
The sixteen former UMNO members were granted leave in February last year to appeal to the Federal Court against the High Court and Court of Appeal’s dismissal of their bid for leave to initiate a judicial review to challenge the legality of the political party.
Two legal questions were framed for determination of the Federal Court.
The 16 former UMNO members are Salihudin Ahmad Khalid, Noorhalimi Yahya, Mariam Mohd Ishak, Mohd Hafami Hanif, Saharudin Tukiman, Azaid Jani, Normalawati Hassan, Radiana Abd Manaf, Mohd Rafeek Rahim, Nurul Hanna Mohd Suhot, Kamarul Abd Wahid, Mohd Hikamal Md Hassim, Muzamzamir Abd Wahab, Norizam Jamaludin, Rohani Ahmad and Muhamad Hafizi Hashim.
In their application seeking for leave to commence judicial review, the 16 former UMNO members sought a certiorari order to quash the decision of the Registrar of Society’s (RoS), as announced through a media statement dated March 5, 2018, to grant UMNO an extension for its party elections till April 19, 2019, which exceeded the maximum period.
They had further sought a mandamus to compel RoS to provisionally dissolve UMNO and for RoS to suspend all the party activities pending disposal of the judicial review.
They also wanted a declaration that UMNO was illegal effective April 20, 2018.
On April 27, 2018, the High Court dismissed the leave application for judicial review filed by the group after allowing the preliminary objection raised by RoS.
They lost their appeal, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Nov 5 last year.
The then High Court judge Datuk Kamaludin Mohd Said (now Court of Appeal judge) dismissed the application for leave for judicial review on grounds that Section 18C of the Societies Act stipulates that a party member cannot bring a dispute regarding the party to court.
— BERNAMA
