Incumbent Klang MP's suit on dissolution of Parliament now academic - Lawyer

Lawyer Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin said the EC had also set Nov 5 for nomination.

Therefore, the originating summons filed by the plaintiff (Santiago) should be dismissed by the court as it is now rendered academic," he submitted.

Zulkefli was making his submission before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid in response to an application by the government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the EC to nullify Santiago's lawsuit which was filed last Oct 11.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, at a press conference today, announced that polling for GE15 would be on Nov 19, while nomination is on Nov 5 and early voting on Nov 15.

The general election will involve all parliamentary seats throughout the country, with Perak, Pahang and Perlis holding their state elections simultaneously.

The Bugaya state by-election in Sabah will also be held at the same time.

Meanwhile, Zulkefli also submitted that the power to dissolve Parliament is the prerogative of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which cannot be questioned by the court.

He said the Agong can use his discretion to dissolve Parliament without having to seek the advice of the Cabinet under Article 40 (1) and Article 40(1A) of the Federal Constitution.

"Therefore, the plaintiff's application is academic because the dissolution of Parliament has been implemented and it has been gazetted," said the lawyer.

According to Zulkefli, the issue of the constitutionality of the request for the dissolution of Parliament by the first defendant (Ismail Sabri) is also academic as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has consented to it.

He said it was the EC's constitutional duty to conduct elections, whereby once the dissolution of Parliament was gazetted, the EC had to step in and conduct elections within 60 days.

Meanwhile, Santiago's counsel, Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, submitted that the significance of the role played by the cabinet in deciding whether the Yang di-Pertuan Agong should be advised to dissolve parliament cannot be downplayed.

"It is indisputable that severe floods were predicted to occur in November and December 2022 from as early as September 2022. Following the floods that occurred in December last year, the consequences would be catastrophic," he said.

Malik Imtiaz further said at that time, major floods hit eight states in Peninsular Malaysia, causing approximately 54 deaths and the displacement of about 117,000 people and the floods also caused losses of about RM6.1 billion.

"As evident from the floods last year, the existence of a functioning Cabinet is critical in order to make important decisions," he said.

He also said the EC had not come up with any plan as to how the conduct the General Election during the flood reason.

"The matter is not in any way academic as the General Election has yet to be held," he added.

After hearing the submissions by all the parties, Judge Ahmad Kamal set Oct 28 for a decision via video conference at 4 pm.

Santiago filed the suit last Oct 11, seeking among others, a declaration that Ismail Sabri's request to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last Oct to dissolve the 14th Parliament was in violation of Article 40(1) and (1A) of the Federal Constitution because it was not made on the advice of the cabinet and is therefore null and void.

He is also seeking to stop the EC from conducting GE15 due to the flood season.