Kerajaan tak boleh keluar perintah tahanan bercanggah terhadap pekerja ladang

The High Court in Muar ruled in favor of Nor Qusyairee Norazrul Faiz in his habeas corpus application to challenge his detention at the Simpang Renggam Moral Rehabilitation Centre in Johor. The Court found that the Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) had exceeded its legal authority by proposing that the pre-trial detention order for the agricultural worker be continued and held simultaneously.

Assistant Attorney General S Kalyana Kumar explained that the Dangerous Drugs (Specific Enforcement Measures) Act 1985 allows for three distinct actions by the agency, namely the continuation, suspension, or cancellation of the pre-trial detention order. However, the Court noted that the agency could not combine two different outcomes by proposing the continuation and suspension of the order at the same time.

The ruling allows Nor Qusyairee to challenge his detention at the Simpang Renggam Moral Rehabilitation Centre. The Court also criticized JAKIM for failing to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the meaning of the agency's order and the relationship between the canceled and then imposed pre-trial detention order. Kalyana found that JAKIM had denied the 25-year-old petitioner access to his own record of statements made during the interrogation conducted by the authorities.

While the authorities acknowledged that the petitioner's recorded answers were included in the report submitted to the deputy minister, the petitioner's application for a copy of the record was denied due to the difficulty of providing the relevant portion of the report, with sensitive information redacted. The Court determined that denying the petitioner access to his own evidence was a significant procedural safeguard in challenging his detention.

The Court emphasized that overturning the suspension of the pre-trial detention order cannot rectify procedural deficiencies in the original detention, even if the petitioner had violated the conditions leading to his release. The Court ordered the petitioner's immediate release unless there is a valid pre-trial detention order against him.

Nor Qusyairee was represented by Jayarubbiny Jayaraj, while the respondent was represented by Attorney-General Jayaraj and Khairulhazman Ghazali, a former Attorney-General.