“The certificate of urgency has been obtained and the hearing has been set for this Monday at 3pm,” PCS president Wifred Bumburing said.
“As the chief minister, Musa should know better than to carry on with the dissolution when there are questions on the constitutionality of the election,” he told FMT.
Bumburing had filed a court injunction at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Thursday to stop the state election, after the redelineation report tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last week excluded Sabah’s 13 new state seats.
The application also sought the court to order the Sabah assembly to convene an emergency session to repeal the state enactment passed in 2016 to increase the number of state seats from 60 to 73.
“Musa as the chief minister must protect and uphold the state constitution. Dissolving the state assembly while a case is pending in court defiles the sanctity of the constitution and this election could prove to be unconstitutional,” he said.
The EC can only decide on the issuance of the writ of election after the court decision on Monday, he added.
After announcing the dissolution of the state assembly yesterday, Musa said the court action would not affect the legality of the election.
“The pending legal suit does not prevent the dissolution of the assembly and the existing 60 state seats are still legal, notwithstanding the amendment (to the constitution),” he said.
“This is because Parliament has not approved the additional seats nor has the King issued the order for the additional seats,” he said.