KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has set Jan 5 to hear an objection on Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj’s legal action for a mandamus order to compel the government to specify the procedure in disbursing funds from the Special Constituency Allocation.
Justice Datuk Aziah Ali fixed the date upon meeting the parties in chambers yesterday.
Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan, representing the respondents, told reporters that the
Attorney-General’s Chambers had raised the preliminary objection on the grounds that there was no substance in Dr Jeyakumar’s application, as well as abuse of the court process.
Dr Jeyakumar’s counsel, Datuk S Ambiga, said she needed time to reply to the chambers’s submissions on the objection which was served on her this morning.
On Oct 29, the Parti Sosialis Malaysia official filed the leave application for a judicial review against the Government and two others, among others to seek a declaration that the special constituency allocation must be provided to all MPs equally, in accordance with Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution.
In his application, he named the director-general of the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department, the Perak development office director and the government, as respondents.
He filed the legal suit after his application to the development office director for funds to be used as contributions to SMJK Shin Chung, SJK Methodist and Nurul Ihsan Orphanage, as well as funds for small projects to benefit Orang Asli villages, was rejected via a letter by the director on Oct 12.
He said his request for the funds ought to have been granted as all projects he had applied for, were the kind that the special constituency allocation was supposed to be utilised for.
Dr Jeyakumar claimed that it was highly likely that the respondents exercised their discretion to grant funds from the special constituency allocation with bias, in favour of MPs from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and with prejudice against MPs from opposition parties.
He is applying for a mandamus order to compel the respondents to explain their authority in disbursing the funds from the Special Constituency Allocation at their discretion and to specify the procedure for allocation of funding since 2008.
The MP also wanted a
writ of quo warranto to be issued against the respondents for them to give information on their authority to exercise the discretion to approve and disburse funds from the federal consolidated funds and special constituency allocations. — Bernama