Lawyer Gopal Sri Ram told a three-member Court of Appeal bench that he was informed by an officer in the Attorney-General’s Chambers that senior federal counsel Suzana Atan was ill this morning.
“She is the counsel personally handling the file,” Sri Ram told the bench consisting of Yaacob Md Sam, Azizah Nawawi and M Gunalan.
Yaacob, who chaired the bench, then instructed the parties to go for case management before a deputy registrar.
“You should get an early date to have the appeal heard,” he said.
Lawyer A Srimurugan, who is assisting Sri Ram, said the appeal hearing had been fixed for Jan 4.
On Feb 27, 2020, then High Court judge Mariana Yahaya had dismissed the suit filed by Kengadharan, who claimed the Departure Levy Act and the Departure Levy Order violated his fundamental right to travel.
Mariana, now a Court of Appeal judge, said this was because she was bound by a 1979 Federal Court ruling in PP vs Loh Wai Kong, which held that the authorities could place restrictions on the right to travel.
The judge said the legal principle in Loh’s case was further affirmed in 2017 by the Court of Appeal in the case of Tony Pua against the immigration department director-general.
Loh had sought a ruling that Malaysian citizens were entitled to travel overseas as a fundamental right under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution.
However, a Federal Court bench led by then Lord President Suffian Hashim held that the right to personal liberty under Article 5 could only apply to challenge the authorities for any unlawful detention.
Last year, the Federal Court said the travel ban imposed on former Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah in May 2016, on the grounds that she had allegedly disparaged the government, was unlawful.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired a seven-member bench, said there was no positive provision of law which set out clearly and unequivocally that the immigration director-general and the home minister had the right to impose the travel ban on Maria.
In the present appeal, Kengadharan, who named the then finance minister Lim Guan Eng and Putrajaya as defendants, sought a declaration that the Act and order breached Article 5 (1) of the Constitution and could not be enforced.
In his affidavit to support the suit, he said any form of tax imposed, including on those who wished to go on a pilgrimage or to perform the haj, was a violation of fundamental liberties.
He also said any imposition of a departure tax, in addition to the existing service and airport taxes, would be burdensome and harsh.
On Aug 2, 2019, Lim said travellers flying out of the country would have to pay between RM8 and RM150 in departure levies, beginning Sept 1.