Govt, Syed Saddiq reach agreement in principle to restore Muar allocations

The government and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman have agreed in principle to settle amicably a dispute over the withdrawal of funds allocated to his constituency, the Federal Court heard today.

According to his lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, the applicants and respondents reached an agreement yesterday to resolve this dispute.

"Among the matters agreed upon is the government's reinstatement of the RM500,000 allocation for 2023, as well as RM230,300 for specific projects under MyKhas," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

The MyKhas portal manages parliamentary allocations and is overseen by the Implementation Coordination Unit under the Prime Minister's Department.

Lim also represents three Muar voters who filed the suit alongside the MP - Najib Abu Nawar, Bakirudin Abdullah, and Fadzly Bisri.

They are now reportedly working out the most suitable and detailed way to formally record the settlement terms in court.

Lim said the applicants also asked for a case management date, so the court could record a consent judgment once the details were finalised.

The Federal Court’s three-judge panel led by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Azizah Nawawi then fixed Dec 7 for both sides to report back on how the allocations will be channelled to the constituency.

The other presiding judges were Nazlan Ghazali and Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Order of certiorari

Syed Saddiq, a former youth and sports minister, filed the lawsuit on April 23, 2024, with the three Muar voters.

The former Muda president asked the court for an order of certiorari to quash the alleged decision to cut off his access to the MyKhas system, which handled his application for a RM2 million allocation for Muar. The respondents were the federal government and the prime minister.

In his affidavit, Syed Saddiq claimed the decision came straight after Muda pulled out of the coalition government on Sept 10, 2023.

The High Court dismissed his application and that of the three voters on Dec 24, 2024.

On Oct 27 last year, the Court of Appeal rejected their appeal to begin judicial review proceedings over the government’s decision to stop the allocations to the constituency.

However, on March 10 this year, the Federal Court allowed their appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision.

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