Paper Title
Judicial Review Approaches on the Right to Oral Hearing in Disciplinary Proceedings Against Public Servants: A Malaysian Perspective

Abstract
Notwithstanding the established principle set by the Privy Council in Najar Singh’s case [1976] 1 MLJ 203 and reaffirmed by the Federal Court in Utra Badi’s case [2001] 2 CLJ 525, the administrative decisions in disciplinary proceeding continue to be reviewed by the Malaysian Courts on the failure of discipline authority to grant oral hearing to the affected public servants. This article will highlight the development of the case law on the issue of the right to oral hearing. In addition to that, it will examine the approaches of the court in determining the right to oral hearing in disciplinary proceedings against public servants; and whether the administrative decisions of the disciplinary authorities should be subject to judicial review or not. This article forwarded a submission that the approaches of the courts on this issue are liberal and restricted in nature. In furtherance of that, it submits that the liberal approach should be adopted in judicial review of the right to oral hearing in disciplinary proceedings against public servants in Malaysia. Keywords - Disciplinary Proceeding, Public Servant, Right to oral hearing, Natural Justice, Judicial Review