Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal has scheduled October 27 to hear the appeal by Muar member of parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and three others. This appeal challenges the High Court’s earlier decision to dismiss their application for leave to contest the government’s withdrawal of allocated funds intended for Syed Saddiq’s constituency.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, representing the four applicants, confirmed the hearing date. The case management session was conducted earlier today by Court of Appeal senior assistant registrar Ahmad Izuddin Fajri Fakrullah.

The legal proceedings began when the High Court, in December last year, dismissed the leave application by Syed Saddiq, Najib Abu Nawar, Mohd Bakirudin Abdullah, and Muhamad Fadzly Bisri. The High Court ruled that the application for judicial review was filed out of time. The four applicants named the Prime Minister and the Government of Malaysia as respondents in their case.

The applicants are seeking a court order to reverse the government’s decision to withhold RM500,000 from a total of RM1.7 million. This sum was originally designated for direct transfer to the Muar Parliamentary Service Centre’s bank account to support welfare, community well-being, and disaster relief initiatives.

Additionally, the applicants aim to restore Syed Saddiq’s access to the myKHAS system, which oversees the RM2 million development fund for his constituency. They are also contesting the cancellation of several approved projects valued at RM230,300.

Furthermore, the appeal challenges the respondents’ refusal to allocate funds for Syed Saddiq, as the Muar MP, for programs under ‘Projek Mesra Rakyat’ or equivalent initiatives for 2024. The applicants assert that the respondents’ actions infringe upon Syed Saddiq’s rights as the representative of Muar and the rights of the three voters in his constituency, as protected under Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.