Former parliamentarian Wee Choo Keong is planning to challenge an election court's decision in 1995 which resulted in him losing his seat.


 His decision follows the revelation of a
 
 <a href="/news/72772" target="_blank">
 video clip
 </a>
 
 , which shows senior lawyer VK Lingam having a conversation with purportedly Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim over the telephone.


 <img align="left" height="64" hspace="5" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/20/d58eb11e4e88f90dd3bb72b10d3c0773.jpg" width="64"/>
 Met at the sidelines of a forum pertaining to the judiciary in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Wee said he plans to file for a judicial review on the decision pertaining to an election petition for the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat 12 years ago.


 "We knew there was something wrong but there was no evidence. But it has been confirmed now (with the emergence of the clip)," said the opposition politician, who is a lawyer by training.


 As to whether his action, after more than a decade, would be considered as being academic, he replied: "When you file an action on such a matter, it's not because you know you're going to win, but it's to make a point to expose the injustice and draw the attention of the public and the court."


 
 
 Controversial decision
 
 




 Wee's name was mentioned by Lingam in the clip, which was said to be recorded in 2002. Ahmad Fairuz was the chief judge of Malaya then.


 Towards the end of the conversation, Lingam was recorded as saying: "You have suffered... so much you have done, for the election, Wee Choo Keong, everything."


 <img align="right" alt="" border="0" height="930" hspace="5" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/97/a1cf3569f5cd022666de09d596fa8136.gif" style="WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 930px" width="250"/>
 Ahmad Fairuz, who was sitting as an election court judge following the 1995 general election, upheld an election petition contesting Wee's victory for the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat under a DAP ticket.


 Instead of calling for a by-election, Ahmad Fairuz ruled that Wee's opponent, Barisan Nasional candidate Dr Lee Chong Meng, be declared the winner.


 The decision of an election court at the time was final and not appealable. Amendments to the election law in recent years allow a candidate to appeal the election court's decision up to the Federal Court within a stipulated time frame.


 Meanwhile, Wee, who has since left DAP and joined the Malaysian Democratic Party, also declined to confirm he would stand in the coming general election.


 "It's too early (to say)," he replied when quizzed on this.


 
 
 'Whitewash'
 
 




 Speaking at the forum's question-and-answer session earlier, Wee said the three-member panel appointed by the government to look into the authenticity of the Lingam clip was nothing more than a 'whitewash'.


 "The panel will just be a whitewash, they will (eventually) say the video clip is not true - correct, correct, correct," he said, mimicking Lingam in the clip much to the amusement of the 250 people who attended the forum.


 The three-member panel was set up following calls on the government to form a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations in the clip.


 The panel is headed by former Chief Judge of Malaya Haidar Mohd Noor. National Service Council chairperson Lee Lam Thye and former Court of Appeal Judge Mahadev Shankar are the other two members.


 Critics have
 
 <a href="/news/72841#l" target="_blank">
 argued
 </a>
 
 that the panel - which has been given limited terms of reference - was not sufficient to get to the bottom of the matter.


 Ahmad Fairuz has since
 
 <a href="/news/72740" target="_blank">
 denied
 </a>
 
 that it was him on the telephone with Lingam.


 
 <a href="/news/72772" target="_blank">
 SPECIAL REPORT: The Lingam tape
 </a>

<img align="left" alt="" border="0" height="64" hspace="2" src="http://mk-cdn.mkini.net/20/d58eb11e4e88f90dd3bb72b10d3c0773.jpg" style="WIDTH: 64px; HEIGHT: 64px" width="64"/>
 The Lingam tape
 

Wee Choo Keong, who lost his Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat following an election petition in 1995, plans to contest the decision in the wake of the latest video-clip scandal.

Former MP to file for judicial review

~RM12

Share

ABOUT

DIGITAL NETWORK

TERMS OF USE

GENERAL LINE

SUBSCRIPTION / TECH SUPPORT

EDITORIAL

LOCATION

RSS FEEDS

DAILY NEWS DIGEST