Bersatu fails challenge to vacate 4 parliamentary seats in Sabah

Bersatu failed in its court challenge to vacate four Sabah parliamentary seats.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning denied leave for the opposition party to proceed with its judicial review.

The civil court will not be hearing the merits of the legal challenge.

During open-court proceedings today, judge Amarjeet Singh ruled that the courts have no power to hear legal challenges involving the decision of the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

“This is based on only one reason, which is that Federal Court cases (previous precedents) stated that the courts do not have jurisdiction to hear matters questioning the speaker (decision on parliamentary seats),” he said.

Amarjeet added that this is in line with Article 63(1) of the Federal Constitution, which deals with the privileges of Parliament.

The provision states that the validity of any House of Parliament’s proceedings or any related committee shall not be questioned in any court.

He also made no order as to costs.

Former Dewan Rakyat speaker and now lawyer Azhar Azizan Harun appeared for applicant Bersatu.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) acted for Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul, who is one of the five respondents.

Counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin acted for the other four respondents, who are the Sabah MPs, namely Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau), and Matbali Musah (Sipitang).

Bersatu’s legal action

On April 17, Bersatu filed the legal action against Johari and the four Sabah MPs.

The two applicants were Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee and a public officer of the party, Captain (Rtd) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya.

Bersatu was seeking an order to revoke a decision made by Johari, via a letter dated Jan 16, which stated that the four lawmakers clarified and confirmed there was no vacant parliamentary seat based on the interpretation of the constitution of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Bersatu.

Bersatu also sought a declaration that the four MPs ceased to be members of the Dewan Rakyat in line with Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, as well as an order for Johari to confirm the four seats as unoccupied.

The party also sought an order for Johari to inform the Election Commission (EC) about the vacancy within 21 days of the order.

In the 15th general election, the four MPs were elected under the GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) banner, which included Bersatu as a coalition member.

However, GRS ended its alliance with Bersatu after the national polls.

Bersatu contended that on Dec 10 last year, GRS chairperson Hajiji Noor issued a media statement informing that the four MPs had decided to leave the party.

The applicant claimed that over a week later on Dec 19 during the first parliamentary session after GE15, the four MPs sat in the government bloc, which clearly showed their intention to leave Bersatu.

Bersatu contended that its secretary-general then issued a termination notice to the four lawmakers on Dec 21 last year, informing them they ceased to be party members.

The opposition party claimed that as the termination occurred after the polls, the parliamentary seats fell vacant in accordance with Article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution.

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