PUTRAJAYA, Nov 3 ― The Federal Court today decided against granting interim bail to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) critic Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and lawyer Matthias Chang pending the High Court’s decision on whether the charge of attempted sabotage proffered against them is a bailable offence.

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, who chaired the Federal Court panel, said that granting interim bail until the High Court decides on several legal questions would be akin to “prejudging” the matter.

“The case involves liberty of persons, we direct the High Court to hear this matter as a matter of urgency,” Arifin said of the three legal questions which he directed High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Azman Husin to hear on November 5.

Arifin also directed that any appeals that may arise in relation to this matter will also be heard urgently.

Among the three legal questions brought before the Federal Court was whether or not the charge against the duo falls outside the constitutional ambit of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA), pursuant to the Federal Constitution's Article 149 (1).

Under Section 13 of SOSMA, no bail is allowed for those who are charged with a security offence.

If the courts decide that the charge against Khairuddin and Chang is not a security offence that falls within SOSMA and is a normal criminal offence under the Penal Code, the duo aged 53 and 65 respectively may apply for bail instead of being mandatorily detained until the end of their trial.

In making the ruling, the five-man Bench noted that the questions posed were not constitutional matters that needed the apex court’s decision and could be dealt with at the High Court level instead.

Khairuddin was detained on September 23 under SOSMA, which allows detention without trial for 28 days, while  Chang was detained later on October 8 under the same law. Both have been in detention since then.

On October 12, Khairuddin and Chang were charged with attempting to sabotage the country's banking and financial services, with the offence under Section 124L of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same law carrying a penalty of a maximum 15-year jail term.

The duo were accused of committing the offence between June 28 and August 26 at five locations, namely the French police's Economic and Financial Crimes Division chief's office in Paris; Charing Cross police station, London, United Kingdom; the Switzerland Attorney General's office in Bern; Wai Chan Police station, Hong Kong and Cantonment Police Headquarters, Singapore.

Khairuddin had kicked off an international tour to lodge reports on and solicit investigations on 1MDB following a series of reports by US-based business daily Wall Street Journal alleging dubious activities involving the state-owned firm.

Today, Salim Bashir held a watching brief on behalf of the Bar Council.

The other judges on the panel today are Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Tan Sri Hasan Lah and Datuk Ramly Ali.