Liew
SANDAKAN: There is nothing in law or in the Constitution which says that the Registry shall remain in Kuching forever, said Minister in the Prime Minister Department Malaysia (Law and Parliamentary Affair) Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Liew also disclosed that the decision to move the Registry to Kota Kinabalu was made by the top four judges in March this year.
In essence it is purely a judicial decision and moving the Registry to Kota Kinabalu changes nothing as far as administration of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak is concerned, he said in a statement yesterday.
Nothing physical moved except for the residence of the Registrar of the High Court, he said, adding that since independence, the registry of Sabah and Sarawak has always been in Kuching.
So for 55 years the registry is seated in Sarawak, he pointed out.
“There is nothing in law or in the Constitution which says that the Registry shall remain in Kuching forever. In fact it’s to the contrary as provided in Art 121 (4) of the Federal Constitution. Impliedly Sabah too has its right to house the Registry,” he explained.
According to Liew, 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.
“Last March Tan Sri Richard wrote to the Prime Minister for permission to move the registry to Kota Kinabalu premised on several reasons which the Prime Minister consented,” he said and pointed out that 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 had been implemented and located in Kuching since the formation of Malaysia.