PUTRAJAYA – Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmaker Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, who won the Gua Musang parliamentary seat in the last general election (GE15), will maintain his seat.
This was affirmed by the Federal Court today when they struck out an appeal by Mohd Azmi Mahmood, who is acting on behalf of Barisan Nasional (BN) stalwart Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, popularly known as Ku Li, in an election petition filed on January 3.
He named Mohd Azizi, Ab Fattah Hasbullah, and the Election Commission (EC), as the defendants in the petition.
The petition was filed at Kota Bharu High Court, where Mohd Azmi was seeking a declaration that Mohd Azizi’s position as MP is invalid and for the EC to call a by-election.
The petitioner is also leveling claims the involvement of money politics swayed Gua Musang voters in GE15.
The Kota Bharu High Court then struck out the petition on February 2 after finding Ku Li (via Mohd Azmi) fail to provide any strong evidence that supported their accusation in the petition.
The court also awarded the respondents RM25,000 in costs.
The Federal Court subsequently on June 19, ordered for the election petition to be sent back to High Court for a full trial after finding that the petition contained an ample amount of merit that enabled the case to be heard.
However, the Kota Bharu High Court, then again, dismissed the petition election on September 5 after Ku Li fired his legal team for the case. The court then awarded the respondent RM80,000 in costs.
During the proceedings at the Federal Court today, the panel of three judges led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, joined by Federal Court judges Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, then dismissed the appeal by Mohd Azmi (for Ku Li) to reinstate the petition.
The panel also allowed a preliminary objection by lawyer Mohd Yusfarizal Yussoff who appeared for Mohd Azizi in today’s proceeding.
Mohd Yusfarizal, in his preliminary objection, submitted that Mohd Azmi cannot appeal to the petition being struck out, seeing that it was Mohd Azmi’s decision to ditch his lawyer.
“The matter cannot be appealed. (But) what he can do is to file another election petition,” he said. – December 5, 2023