Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

Introduction

[1] There are two appeals before us. The first is Civil Appeal No 202/97 which we shall for convenience refer to as "the first appeal". It is directed against the refusal by Ian Chin J, sitting in the High Court at Kota Kinabalu, to grant orders of certiorari sought by the appellant. The other is Civil Appeal No 669/97 ("the second appeal") which arises out of an earlier decision in the same proceedings whereby the High Court, when granting leave to issue certiorari refused to order that such leave do operate as a stay. Although we will say something more about the correctness of the decision that forms the subject matter of the second appeal later in this judgment, it suffices for the present to note that a resolution of the first appeal in one way or another will render the second appeal academic. We are therefore concerned in the main with the first appeal. Counsel on all sides were in agreement that this is the correct way in which to approach these appeals.

[2] When these appeals were called on for hearing before us on 30 March 1998, counsel for the appellant informed us that he had two motions in the first appeal. The first of these motion