Apex court sets August 18 for verdict in Segamat election petition appeal

Justice Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof, who chaired the bench, said the court would not be able to decide today and she fixed Aug 18 at 3 pm to deliver their decision.

The bench, also consisting of Justices Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim and Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan heard the appeal brought by Ramasamy, who is appealing against the Election Court decision to strike out his petition.

The judges heard submissions from Ramasamy's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, lawyer Lau Yi Leong representing Segamat member of Parliament R. Yuneswaran and senior federal counsel Suzana Atan appearing for the Returning Officer and the Election Commission (EC).

Muhammad Shafee argued that Ramasamy's petition which was filed to challenge Yuneswaran's victory for the Segamat parliamentary seat in the GE15, should be remitted back to the Election Court for full trial to enable witnesses to give evidence on alleged corrupt intentions by Yuneswaran, who was the Pakatan Harapan candidate.

He said the allegation that food was given in a Chinese temple with a corrupt intention to influence voters to vote for the first respondent (Yuneswaran) raises a prima facie case of an offence under Section 8 of the Election Offences Act 1954.

He said the petition was not defective and should not have been struck out on a preliminary objection. He also argued that Ramasamy complied with the requirements of Rule 4 (1) (b) and 4(4) of the Election Petition Rules 1954 by inserting sufficient material facts to support his case.

Muhammad Shafee said there was also non-compliance with the requirements of the Election Offences Act when Form A on the oath of secrecy was not signed by Yuneswaran's representative before the Returning Officer and that Form A had been pre-signed by the Returning Officer.

He said the Election Court judge erred when he stated the act of treating people at a temple on Nov 18, last year cannot be implied to have presupposed the result of the election petition.

On April 3, Election Court judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid struck out Ramasamy's election petition after accepting the preliminary objection by the respondents (Yuneswaran, the returning officer and the Election Commission) that his (Ramasamy's) petition was defective as he failed to comply with the requirements of the Election Offences Act and the Election Petition Rules.

Yuneswaran won the seat with a majority of 5,669 votes in November last year and was declared the elected member of parliament for that constituency, defeating Ramasamy, Perikatan Nasional's P. Poobalan and Pejuang's Syed Hairoul Faizey. Ramasamy, who is MIC treasurer stood as a candidate for Barisan Nasional for that constituency.

In his petition, Ramasamy sought, among others, a declaration that the Parliamentary election for the Segamat constituency was void and a declaration that Yuneswaran was not a duly elected member of parliament. He named Yuneswaran, the returning officer and the Election Commission as respondents.

In the proceedings, Yuneswaran's counsel Lau Yi Leong urged the court to maintain the Election Court decision, saying that Ramasamy's petition contain insufficient material facts pertaining to corrupt intention by his client, the identity of the organiser of the event, Yuneswaran's agents, the recipients of the food as well as the speech allegedly given by Yuneswaran.

He said this amounted to a non-compliance with Rule 4 (1) (b) and 4(4) of the Election Petition Rules, adding that it was mandatory for Ramasamy to provide sufficient material facts to sustain his allegations, and failure to do so would render the petition defective.