Syed Saddiq Bin Syed Abdul Rahman & Ors v Perdana Menteri Malaysia & Anor

Appellant(s):

• Syed Saddiq Bin Syed Abdul Rahman
• Najib Bin Abu Nawar
• Mohd Bakirudin Bin Haji Abdullah
• Muhamad Fadzly Bin Bisri

Respondent(s):

• Perdana Menteri Malaysia
• Kerajaan Malaysia

• YAA Datuk Seri Hashim Bin Hamzah
• YA Dato' Azmi Bin Ariffin
• YA Datuk Hayatul Akmal binti Abdul Aziz

• The first appellant, elected as Member of Parliament for Muar, had constituency funding allocations revoked and cancelled immediately after his political party withdrew support from the Unity Government on 10 September 2023.
• Despite subsequent consultations with the Deputy Prime Minister and a letter dated 29 March 2024 giving the respondents seven days to respond (failing which refusal would be assumed), no funds were reinstated, while other opposition MPs who supported the Government continued receiving allocations.
• The appellants filed for leave for judicial review on 25 April 2024, seeking certiorari to quash the funding cancellations and mandamus to compel disbursement, which the High Court dismissed for being filed out of time.

• Whether the application for leave for judicial review was filed within the three-month time limit prescribed under Order 53 rule 3(6) of the Rules of Court 2012.
• Whether the relevant date for computing the limitation period was 10 September 2023 (when funding was cancelled following the withdrawal of political support) or 5 April 2024 (the deadline set by the appellants' ultimatum letter for the respondents to respond).
• Whether a party's unilateral ultimatum letter, met with silence from a public authority, can give rise to a "deemed decision" that restarts or extends the limitation period for judicial review.

• The Court of Appeal held that the impugned decision was communicated to the appellants on 10 September 2023, when funding was cancelled immediately following the political withdrawal, and this was corroborated by the appellants' own affidavit evidence.
• Following the precedent in Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Munir & Ors v Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur & Anor, the Court affirmed that a public authority is not obliged to respond to a party's ultimatum letter, and silence does not create a "deemed decision" that resets the limitation clock.
• As the application for leave was filed on 25 April 2024—well beyond the three-month period expiring on 10 December 2023—and no extension of time was sought under Order 53 rule 3(7), the Court held the application was time-barred and dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's decision with no order as to costs.