Datuk Liew Vui Keong – Bernama file photo
SANDAKAN: There is nothing in law or in the Constitution which says that the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak Registry shall remain in Kuching forever, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliamentary Affairs) Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
“In fact it’s to the contrary as provided in Article 121 (4) of the Federal Constitution. Impliedly, Sabah too has its right to house the Registry,” Liew said in a press statement today.
Liew disclosed that the decision to move the Registry from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu was made by the top four judges sometime in March, this year.
“In essence, it is purely a judicial decision. Moving the Registry to Kota Kinabalu changes nothing as far as administration of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak is concerned,” said Liew.
According to him, nothing physical moves except for the residence of the Registrar of the High Court.
Liew said when the new Kota Kinabalu Court Complex was ready for occupation late last year, the former Chief Judge Tan Sri Richard Malanjum thought the time has come for Sabah to house the Registry.
“This idea was put to the top management who also agreed. However the Advocates Association of Sarawak flatly rejected the idea.”
Liew said last March, Malanjum wrote to the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for permission to move the Registry to Kota Kinabalu premised on several reasons which the Prime Minister consented.
“There is no financial implication to such move. Thereafter the Yang di-Pertuan Agong granted his royal assent to move the Registry to Kota Kinabalu in early April.
“It is only after that the Chief Registrar issued the circular of relocation on April 19, 2019,” Liew disclosed.
The relocation, effective May 1, this year, was revealed in an official government letter dated April 19 and signed by Chief Registrar of the Federal Court Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar.
This sudden decision had shocked many, considering that the Registry of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak has been located in Kuching since the formation of Malaysia.