Court of Appeal president Abu Bakar Jais recused himself from hearing Bersatu’s bid to appeal the Dewan Rakyat speaker’s refusal to declare as vacant four Sabah parliamentary seats won by the party’s former members in the last general election.

Abu Bakar, who chaired a three-judge Federal Court panel, said he decided to recuse himself because he has known Bersatu’s lawyer, Azhar Azizan Harun, for over 30 years.

The two other judges on the bench were...