KOTA KINABALU: A judicial review on the controversial Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) is scheduled for deliberation by the Sabah and Sarawak High Court on April 17.
In 2021, the 100-year agreement was secretly signed between the Sabah government and Singapore's private firm Hoch Standard that would look into carbon and nature trade deals involving up to 2 million hectares of state land.
The judicial review would enable a court to examine the conduct of an administrative agency to see whether they have acted within the scope of their lawful powers.
The petition for a Judicial Review on the NCA was filed by indigenous rights activist Adrian Lasimbang in 2022.
In support of the intention, 13 civil society organisations (CSO) have come together as an alliance and have also submitted a formal application to appear as 'amicus curiae' (Latin for friend of the court) to the High Court on Dec 14, last year.
"We believe a judicial review can provide some of the facts and resolution sought by Sabahans on the contentious NCA.
"It is vital that our state institutions follow proper administrative and legal processes for Sabah's development rather than risking being steamrolled by private and political interests," said Cynthia Ong, spokesperson for the CSO alliance in a statement.
Last month, Sabah Forestry Department chief forests conservator Datuk Frederick Kugan had said the delay in implementing the NCA pilot project was pending for Hoch Standard Pte Ltd to fulfill the requests of the state government.
Frederick had said the department at the time viewed the pilot site, which included Nuluhon Trusmadi Forest Reserve (Class I), as reasonable and could test the framework for parts of the NCA.
However, Hoch Standard has yet to submit the description of designated areas, which was subjected to the availability of unencumbered areas.