KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has objected to Bersatu's application for leave to initiate a judicial review against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) action that froze its bank account, citing the danger of interference of jurisdiction between the civil courts and the criminal courts.
Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, in his submission, told the High Court that the move to freeze the political party's bank account could not be challenged through a judicial review as the power to issue the order (to freeze) was part of the mechanism in an investigation.
He said MACC was given the power to issue a freeze order on properties in accordance with several guidelines.
"This leave application must be dismissed as the bank account is now a subject in a criminal charge, hence any complaints relating to it is under the jurisdiction of the criminal courts," SFC Shamsul said here on Thursday (April 6), referring to Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's graft case at the Sessions Court.
"Therefore, we submit that by allowing the leave application on the freeze order, this will bring to an interference by the civil courts on to the jurisdiction of the criminal courts," he added.
On Muhyiddin's bid to challenge his travel ban, SFC Shamsul said the leave application for that particular matter should also be dismissed as the ban has been lifted, making the application academic.
Although the ban (relating to the Bersatu investigation by MACC) had been lifted, SFC Shamsul said it was still being imposed based on the Sessions Court's order after Muhyiddin was charged and that he needed the court's permission if he were to travel.
Meanwhile, Bersatu's lawyer Rosli Dahlan argued that the leave application to challenge both the freeze order and the travel ban must be allowed as there were live issues which needed to be ventilated at a substantive judicial review hearing.
He said the respondents had committed procedural "misconduct" that warranted the court to hear the merits of the judicial review as the freeze order was mala fide (bad faith) and unlawful.
Both parties were submitting in the hearing of an application by Bersatu for leave to initiate judicial review against MACC's freeze order and Muhyiddin's travel ban.
High Court judge Justice Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid then fixed May 17 for decision on the leave application.
On March 8, Muhyiddin and Datuk Capt (R) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, who is the first applicant, in his capacity as a public officer of Bersatu, filed the leave application to challenge MACC's orders.
They named MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, MACC investigation division senior director Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim, MACC anti-money laundering division director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud, 13 MACC officers who were involved in the investigation against Bersatu and the execution of the freeze order, along with the MACC, the Immigration Department and the government as respondents.
Subsequently, the applicants are seeking to unfreeze the said accounts so that a sum of RM4,354,635.80 could be used for the expenses, operations and management of Bersatu.
The applicants claim that the freezing order was wrongful, null and void as a result of the unconstitutionality, illegality, procedural impropriety, irrationality, mala fide, abuse of process and abuse of power by MACC and its officers.
