Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee's status as the Likas state assembly representative and member of parliament for Gaya is in doubt after the Federal Court today refused his application for leave to set aside an Election Court judgment which found him guilty of breaching the Election Offences Act during the Sabah state election in 1999.

The three-member panel dismissed with costs the application to appeal against the landmark decision of Election Judge Muhammad Kamil Awang in June 2001.

Muhammad Kamil had ruled that the election result of the Likas state seat during the 1999 election was null and void. He also said that Yong was guilty of committing a corrupt practise.

The decision paved the way for a by-election which was held in July last year and saw Yong winning the seat again after the Kota Kinabalu High Court allowed his application for a stay of execution.

Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court Judge Abdul Malek Ahmad unanimously decided that the question of leave does not arise as the authorities have clearly stated that decision by an Election Court is unappealable.

Dzaiddin said it was obvious that the right of appeal does not apply to the decisions made by the Election Court. He added that even if leave was granted, there was no prima facie that Yong would succeed in his appeal.