The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave today for Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others to seek a judicial review of the government's decision to place the Selangor water concession agreement under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim said she was satisfied the application for the review was not frivolous, that there is a decision for which a review was sought, and that there are grounds for the review to be argued in a full hearing.

Senior Federal Counsel Azizah Nawawi, representing the Selangor and federal governments and Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik, had in preliminary objections to the suit argued that the applicants have no legal standing to file the suit.

"On the issue of locus standi ...the applicants have established a prima facie case and hence, have been granted leave to proceed with the case," said Wan Afrah at the court's Appellate and Special Powers Division in Jalan Duta.

In their submissions on the matter of local standing, counsel for both sides had raised the issue of the Supreme Court's 1988 decision that politician Lim Kit Siang had no locus standi to apply for an interim injunction against United Engineers (M) Sdn Bhd to restrain it from signing the North-South Highway contract.

Counsel for the MTUC and the other applicants, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, however, had suggested in submissions that this present case was a matter of public law concerning the decision of a government authority.

It was therefore, distinguishable from the 1988 case which involved a private law action where a civil suit had been brought against the government.

Positive step

In court this morning, however, Wan Afrah that the issue of the applicants' local standing may still be brought up by the government later on during argumentation at the full hearing.

Met afterwards, Malik told reporters the grant of leave is a positive "step in the right direction".

"We should be given our day in court, and the court today has said that we are entitled to our day in court, and that's a very positive development," he said.

Coordinator for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation Charles Santiago, while welcoming the grant of leave, also said there is still a long way to go before the applicants can breath a sigh of relief.

"We will prepare for the next battle so to speak," he said.

The suit followed the government's rejection of the applicants' demand to see the concession agreement.

They also wanted access to the auditor-general's report that the government claimed warranted last October's 15 percent increase in water tariff for Klang Valley residents.