Kuching High Court grants ad hoc practising licences to Datuk Dr Cyrus Das and Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan
See leaving the High Court yesterday.
KUCHING: Kuching High Court yesterday granted ad hoc practising licences to constitutional law expert Datuk Dr Cyrus Das and former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to represent See Chee How and Pauls Baya in the Election Commission (EC)’s appeal case.
The Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear the case in Putrajaya this Thursday (July 9).
The EC is appealing against Kuching High Court’s ruling on the EC’s notice of publication of their proposed recommendations on the re-delineation of Sarawak’s electoral boundaries.
Kuching High Court judge Datuk Yew Jen Kie yesterday granted the ad-hoc practising licences after hearing submissions from See, who represented Das and Ambiga, Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) president Leonard Shim and state Attorney-General Chambers’ representative Dayang Jamilah Tun Salahuddin.
“Based on the submissions and materials before me, I’m satisfied the applications fall within the ambit of special circumstances. This is a fit and proper case to grant ad-hoc practising licences to both petitioners for this appeal in the Court of Appeal and Federal Court until the final determination of the application of judicial review,” said Yew.
Das and Ambiga were required to obtain ad-hoc practising licences as the case originated from Sarawak. The AAS did not object to the petition to grant the licences, but the state Attorney-General Chambers objected by arguing that the case was not so unique that it required counsels of special expertise. The state A-G Chambers believed See, who is a lawyer, was capable of handling the appeal.
Shim said the AAS was not objecting to the petition as the EC’s appeal in the Court of Appeal involved novel and complex questions of law and involving interpretations of the provisions in the Federal Constitution for the first time.
“It (the decision) will become a precedent for other states or federal delineation of electoral boundaries and elections. It will affect the whole nation and the people of this country,” Shim said in his submission.
Shim made it clear that the AAS rarely agreed to the appointment of counsels from Peninsular Malaysia to practise in cases originating from Sarawak, adding “this is one of those very rare cases where the AAS is not objecting to the co-counsels, who have the required expertise to appear in the Court of Appeal case”.
See, who is also Batu Lintang assemblyman, said he decided to appoint Das and Ambiga to represent him and Pauls because the case involved the interpretation and deliberation of Articles 46, 113, 114 and the Thirteenth schedule of the Federal Constitution.
These sections, he added, were not only difficult and complex but it would be the first time these provisions are examined by the Malaysian courts.
He was confident Das and Ambiga would present a good case in this civil appeal.
“While Dr Cyrus will be focusing on constitutional interpretation, Datuk Ambiga, with her experience in lobbying for clean and fair elections through Bersih and having been invited to present her case by the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms, is the best person to deliberate and argue on the need for detailed particulars that should be included in the notice.” See said this civil appeal case was definitely unique as it had significant bearings on the power and rights of the EC, the power and rights of voters, and generally the conduct of elections and delimitation exercise undertaken in this country.
The Sarawak State Legal Advisor and State Legal Officers of the state AG’s Chambers would be attending the hearing on July 9 as “Friends of the Court”.
The Advocates Association of Sarawak, Bar Council, and Bersih would also be sending lawyers to attend and apply to hold watching brief.
Meanwhile, Ambiga, when contacted, said she was very pleased to learn that Yew had granted ad-hoc licences to Das and her to argue this important case. She said the fact that Sarawak had banned her was irrelevant as the matter was before the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.
On April 15, 2011, Ambiga was denied entry into Sarawak during the 10-day state election campaign period. She was stopped at the Kuching International Airport and had to board the next available flight back to Kuala Lumpur.
On Aug 4 of the same year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court refused to grant her leave to initiate a judicial review filed by her on May 23, 2011, to seek a certiorari order to quash the notice issued by the Sarawak Immigration director to bar her from entering Sarawak during the state election in 2011.
When the Appellate Court turned her down, too, she sought leave to appeal to the Federal Court against the High Court’s dismissal of her application for leave to initiate the judicial review, but the Federal Court on Sept 12, 2012, also denied her leave to appeal.
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