AGC moves to block judicial review of 2024 diesel subsidy removal

Senior federal counsel says the decision to end the subsidies cannot be challenged through judicial review as the matter is not governed by any written law.

Senior federal counsel Sallehuddin Ali said the decision to end the subsidies could not be challenged through judicial review as the matter was not governed by any written law.

“The granting or withdrawal of subsidies is not a right provided under the law; rather, it is a form of financial assistance and a policy decision that the court cannot adjudicate,” he said during the leave application hearing today.

Sallehuddin also said the issue had become academic since diesel prices and subsidy methods were standardised nationwide on July 1.

The application for leave to commence judicial review was filed on Oct 7, 2024, by Azhani Marlan @ Abd Halim, 49, and Hatta Sanuri, 50.

They named Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali, transport minister Loke Siew Fook and the government as respondents.

Among other things, the two men are seeking a declaration that the decision on June 9, 2024 to scrap the diesel subsidy and set the retail price at RM3.35 per litre, up from RM2.15, a 56% jump, was null and void in law.

The move took effect on June 10, 2024, in Peninsular Malaysia, with Sabah and Sarawak exempted.

The applicants’ lawyer, Mohaji Selamat, argued that the decision was amenable to judicial review as it involved neither national security nor any specific prerogative power that was ordinarily non-justiciable.

“The government’s decision on diesel subsidies is subject to the law, including Article 8 of the Federal Constitution and Section 6(2)(g) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961.

“Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law. So why are people in Peninsular Malaysia denied the subsidy when, at the time, unlimited subsidies were given to Sabah and Sarawak?” he asked.

Mohaji also said the issue should not be dismissed as being academic merely because the government had restored diesel subsidies in Peninsular Malaysia in stages.

He said a judicial review application could still proceed even if the decision being challenged had been withdrawn or changed.

“In our view, the damage or impact arising from that decision, from June 10, 2024 until July 1 this year, does not disappear simply because the subsidy has been reinstated,” he said.

Justice Norliza Othman fixed Nov 16 to deliver her decision on the application.