ART lawsuit to proceed despite US court declaring tariffs illegal, says lawyer

2026-03-25 - 04:01

The suit is brought by PN MPs Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Fathul Huzir Ayob (Gerik), Awang Hashim (Pendang), Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah) and Abdul Khalib Abdullah (Rompin). PETALING JAYA: Five Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs are pressing ahead with their legal challenge against the Malaysia-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), a lawyer confirmed, despite the US Supreme Court striking down Donald Trump’s tariffs as unlawful. S Karthigesan, who appeared for the five MPs, said this was conveyed to Kuala Lumpur High Court deputy registrar Firdaus Sidqi Sharil Azli during a case management last week. “Our suit is not academic as we want the court to determine the constitutional process,” he told FMT. Federal counsel Zulkiefli Sulaiman appeared for the government. Firdaus sought clarification on the stance taken by the plaintiffs – Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Fathul Huzir Ayob (Gerik), Awang Hashim (Pendang), Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah) and Abdul Khalib Abdullah (Rompin) – in light of last month’s US Supreme Court ruling nullifying the agreement. The lawyer said the five MPs still want their application referred to the Federal Court for hearing. Karthigesan said the core issue – whether the Cabinet has the power to enter into international agreements without parliamentary authorisation – remains a novel and independent constitutional question that requires a binding precedent. He said clarification is needed on Article 69 of the Federal Constitution as it concerns the federation’s legal capacity regarding property, contracts and legal proceedings. The five plaintiffs filed their application under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 and Article 128(2) of the Federal Constitution. The government has filed an application to strike out the suit. The next case management is before Justice Amarjeet Singh on May 4. The PN lawmakers filed their originating summons at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan 19 to challenge the trade agreement signed by Malaysia and the US last October. They named Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the attorney-general and the government as defendants in the suit. In their court papers, the plaintiffs argued that Anwar lacked the constitutional authority to bind the federation to the agreement. They are seeking declarations that the prime minister and the government failed to uphold their constitutional duty of collective responsibility, and that the attorney-general failed to properly advise them on the constitutional prerequisites before Malaysia could be lawfully bound to the deal. The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that the trade agreement is unconstitutional and void. On Nov 4 last year, Anwar said the government had consulted the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to ensure that the reciprocal trade agreement with the US was constitutionally compliant. He said the AGC’s input was sought to ensure that the ART provisions did not contravene the “spirit of the Federal Constitution and domestic laws”.