KUCHING: A permanent panel of the Court of Appeal needs to be established in Sabah and Sarawak.
A solicitor of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Kee Heng hoped the government could establish a permanent panel for the East Malaysian states in the near future.
“Until today, the Court of Appeal that was established around 30 years ago is only a ‘Sub-Registry’ set up in 2007 in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for the purpose of facilitating the filing and delivery of documents.
“Malaysia has been established for more than 60 years, so Sabah and Sarawak have a right to have at least a permanent panel of the Court of Appeal comprising experienced Borneo judges.
“With this, it will help speed up the hearing of appeals originating from here in addition to saving costs for the parties involved,” he said.
He was speaking at the book launch ceremony on Civil And Criminal Appeals In Malaysia (Fourth Edition) at the Sheraton Hotel here.
He added that until January 2023, a total of 6,300 appeals have not been resolved at the Court of Appeal and the majority of them are from Semenajung Malaysia, which affects the speed of disposal of appeals from Sabah Sarawak.
Adding on, Tan said that there is no special permanent panel of the Court of Appeal allocated to hear appeals originating from Sabah and Sarawak.
“If we have a permanent panel, certainly the appeals from Sabah and Sarawak can be disposed of quickly within a period of 12 months to 18 months.
“Therefore, I believe it is not impossible if all stakeholders can work together for a permanent panel of the Court of Appeal to be based in Sabah and Sarawak considering that we are equal partners in the formation of Malaysia,” he added.
