KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — The High Court will rule on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's application to remove two people from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Bank Negara Malaysia's foreign exchange losses on Thursday.

The former prime minister filed for judicial review of the appointments of RCI chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and commissioner Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon, claiming the two should be disqualified as they already served on the special task force that recommended the commission.

"We explained that we have the right under rules of natural justice. A party which may have decided an issue earlier in a Special Task Force, cannot be tainted in the RCI. He may even be subjected to cross examinations,” Dr Mahathir's lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla told reporters, after a meeting between the two groups of lawyers, in judge Datin Azizah Nawawi's chambers.

Datuk Amerjeet Singh, who is representing the government, said that it was against public interest to subject the RCI to judicial review at this early stage.

"The RCI is merely an adjunct to the task force, as an RCI has more bite then the task force, which was administrative and carrying out fact finding functions,” Amerjeet told reporters.

Dr Mahathir is also seeking a court order to compel the government to immediately advise the Yang Di-pertuan Agong in accordance with the Federal Constitution’s Articles 40(1) and 40(1A) to revoke or terminate the latter’s consent for Sidek and Saw's appointment to the RCI panel.

The RCI was announced on June 21 following the special task force's preliminary investigation on claims that Bank Negara Malaysia racked up US$10 billion (RM42.9 billion) in foreign exchange losses during the early 1990s.

The scandal was among the biggest from Dr Mahathir's time as prime minister.