The Kuala Lumpur High Court will announce on June 14 whether the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others have legal standing to seek judicial review of a decision to place the Selangor water concession agreement under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim of the Appellate and Special Powers Division will also reveal whether the applicants are empowered to apply for disclosure of the audit report warranting the decision to raise water tariffs by 15 percent.

Wan Afrah set the date after hearing in chambers the submissions of counsel for the applicants and respondents.

In addition to the counsels, representatives of the Bar Council and Human Rights Society of Malaysia were also present to hold a watching brief.

Following the announcement of the water tariff hike last October which affects water-users in Klang Valley, the MTUC and others had challenged the government to reveal the concession agreement and the audit report to prove that the increase is justified.

They proceeded to file the suit after the government rejected the challenge.

In her preliminary objections to the suit, Senior Federal Counsel Azizah Nawawi argued on behalf of the federal and Selangor governments and Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik that the complainants have no legal standing to file their suit.

Azizah also stressed that the document in question - the concession agreement between the Selangor and federal governments and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) - is beyond the applicants' access due to its classification under the OSA.