The Court of Appeal dismissed Ahmad Dusuki’s bid to reinstate his Islamic teaching certificate, upholding the High Court’s refusal to grant additional remedies.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today dismissed freelance preacher Ahmad Dusuki Abd Rani’s appeal to reinstate his Tauliah Mengajar (Islamic teaching certification).
A three-member panel led by Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan clarified that the appeal concerned only the Shah Alam High Court’s refusal to grant additional remedies.
The High Court had previously allowed Ahmad Dusuki’s judicial review application. It issued a certiorari quashing the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) decision of March 10, 2022, which had revoked his certification.
“The sole issue before this court is whether the learned High Court judge erred in refusing to grant declaratory relief, mandamus and damages,” said Mohamed Zaini.
He stated that the reliefs sought are discretionary in nature. An appellate court will not interfere unless the lower court acted on a wrong principle or the decision is plainly wrong.
The other two judges on the panel were Justices Datuk Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab and Datin Paduka Evrol Mariette Peters.
Justice Mohamed Zaini said the panel first considered the declaration that the revocation was null and void. He said the High Court’s certiorari had already nullified the revocation decision ab initio.
He held that any further declaration would be redundant. Declaratory relief must serve a purpose, and the trial judge was correct to refuse a needless declaration.
The judge then addressed the order of mandamus to reinstate the Tauliah Mengajar. He noted the certification expired on June 30, 2023, by effluxion of time.
“The High Court’s decision was delivered after it had expired,” he said. The appellant identified no statutory duty to reinstate an expired Tauliah, so the refusal of mandamus was correct.
Regarding a request to extend the certification without a new application, the court viewed this as circumventing the regulatory framework. Justice Mohamed Zaini accepted MAIS’s contention that the revocation letter did not cite political involvement.
“It is, in our opinion, a speculative move on the part of the appellant,” he added. The court agreed MAIS was entitled to set such regulations under state enactment.
On the issue of damages, the judge noted a public law violation does not automatically confer a right to compensation. An applicant must establish an independent cause of action recognised in private law.
“The appellant neither pleaded nor proved any such actionable cause,” he said. The court found no error warranting appellate interference.
The appeal was dismissed with costs of RM35,000. Ahmad Dusuki was represented by lawyers Ashok K Raman Nair and Mohd Jamil Yaacob.
Arham Rahimy Hariri appeared for MAIS.
The Sun Malaysia
