KUCHING, Feb 11 — The High Court here today dismissed a bid by Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) to stay proceedings in a civil lawsuit filed by the Comptroller of Sarawak Sales Tax and the state government against the national oil company for failing to pay the 5 per cent sales tax.

Judicial Commissioner Christopher Chin also set March 13 for hearing to begin.

Petronas had applied for a stay of all proceedings pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal against Chin’s refusal to recuse himself from hearing the case.

He ordered Petronas and the Sarawak government as well as the comptroller to file and exchange their submissions and affidavits by March 2 and reply to be filed and exchanged by March 9.

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In dismissing application for stay, Chin said any application for recusal is against the judicial institution and not the person.

“Petronas has taken pains in the earlier application for recusal to stress that they had nothing against me personally.

“They were concerned about the perceived bias arising from the fact that both my future confirmation, if at all, to the High Court judge and the affairs of Petronas themselves are subjugated to the prerogative of the prime minister of Malaysia.

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“Taking Petronas’ argument, I would then be perceived by the informed bystander to decide on this case in a manner that would be biased in favour of Petronas so as to seek favour with the prime minister should my confirmation ever reach his bureau or rather seek not to be in his black book,” Chin said.

He said he is bound by his oath of office and that he needs to serve his “one and only boss, the Rule of Law.”

Hence, to stay these proceedings in the absence of any direct aspersions against him would be a failure on his part to discharge his sworn duty.

He said it will be an endorsement of a flaw in the system of confirmation of the judicial commissioner and represents a fault in the constitutional provisions relating to the judicial institution.

On January 23, Chin dismissed Petronas’ application for him to recuse from hearing the suit, saying that the possibility of him being biased in hearing the suit did not arise.

“I, with hand over heart, rule that there is no real possibility of perceived bias by a fair-minded observer having knowledge of the facts, and I dismiss the defendant’s application to recuse me,” he had said in his judgment.

Chin said the application, even with the avowed best intentions of Petronas, was an affront to Malaysia’s judicial system, and hence, frivolous and without merit.

The Comptroller of SST and the state government were represented by state Attorney-General Datuk Talat Mohmood Abdul Rashid, senior state legal counsel Datuk Fong Joo Chung, deputy state AG Saferi Al, State counsels Nur Azhar Bujang and Voon Yan Sin.

Petronas was represented by senior lawyer Malik Imtiaz Ahmed Ghulam Sarwar and Alvin Chong.