Lawyer Shaharudin Ali said the application was filed yesterday by its president, Mohd Azizee Hasan, who represented the Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia.
“The application is to set aside an earlier court order and reinstate the suit,” said Azizee, whose application was sighted by FMT.
On Sunday, High Court judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh struck out the suit as no lawyer was present to appear for Azizee, the plaintiff.
Federal counsel Nik Nur Adila Mat Zaidan, represented the education minister and the government, who were the defendants.
Shaharudin, who has also filed an affidavit in support of the application, said he had been unable to attend court on Sunday as he had a serious eye condition.
The lawyer said he was under medication and at home due to the conditional movement control order and that his legal firm in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, was located in a Covid-19 red zone.
“I was unable to communicate with my staff to find a replacement lawyer to attend the case management,” he added.
Shaharudin said he had filed all legal documents on behalf of his client as instructed by the court earlier to expedite the case, while the opposing parties had been delaying the matter from being disposed of.
Parties on Sunday were scheduled to appear and update the judge on several preliminary matters.
Lawyer T Gunaseelan, who represented three language-based interest groups to intervene in the action, told FMT the court had struck out the suit.
The plaintiff last month opposed an application by the Chinese Language Council, Tamil Language Association and Confederation of Former Tamil School Pupils and the government to have the action filed in the High Court here to be transferred to Kuala Lumpur.
The plaintiff also opposed the three groups’ attempt to be made parties on grounds that there were already two others who had intervened.
The parties that had intervened earlier were MCA and the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong).
In August, the three groups filed the intervenor application on the grounds they had a direct interest in the case and would be aggrieved parties should the plaintiff succeed in their action.
Azizee is challenging the constitutionality of Sections 17 and 28 of the Education Act.
Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung, Majlis Pembangunan Pendidikan Islam Malaysia and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) had also filed a similar cause of action in Kuala Lumpur early this year.
Isma president Aminuddin Yahaya is seeking an order that the two provisions in the Education Act, which allow the use of Chinese and Tamil languages as the medium of instruction in vernacular schools, are against Article 152 of the Federal Constitution.
Article 152 states that Bahasa Melayu is the national language of Malaysia.