Former PAS leader Ahmad Dusuki Abd Rani has failed in his final attempt to overturn a court ruling that refused to compel the Selangor religious council to extend his preaching accreditation, or tauliah, beyond its expiry date.
A three-member Federal Court bench, led by Justice Nordin Hassan, today refused Dusuki leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that upheld the High Court’s ruling.
Nordin, sitting with Justices Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and P Ravinthran, said the three legal questions raised by Dusuki did not meet the threshold required under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
He said the questions were centred on facts and did not raise issues of public importance.
However, the court ordered that Dusuki, a former member of the Selangor PAS Ulama council committee, would not have to pay costs to the respondents — the Selangor religious council and the state tauliah committee.
Jamil Yaacob and Ashok K Raman represented Dusuki, while Arham Rahimy Hariri appeared for the respondents.
On Feb 26, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision, with a three-member bench led by Justice Zaini Mazlan ruling that courts could not substitute their own decisions for those of public authorities in matters involving discretion.
Zaini said Dusuki had failed to identify any statutory provision requiring the council to reinstate his expired tauliah.
He also found that Dusuki had not established a legal right to have his accreditation automatically renewed, adding that the mandamus order he sought would effectively allow him to secure an extension without submitting a fresh application.
The Court of Appeal concluded that the High Court had made no error warranting appellate intervention.
Dusuki was previously issued a tauliah to preach in Selangor by the state religious council and tauliah committee. The accreditation was revoked on March 3, 2022, despite being due to expire on June 30, 2023.
He subsequently filed a judicial review application at the Shah Alam High Court challenging the revocation and seeking an order compelling the respondents to extend his tauliah beyond its expiry date.
He also sought damages and a declaration that the respondents could not prevent him from preaching in Selangor because of his political involvement.
On Oct 5, 2023, the High Court quashed the revocation, ruling that it was null and void.
However, the court declined to extend Dusuki’s tauliah beyond its stated expiry date or grant the declaration he sought, leading to the subsequent appeals.
