PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has rescheduled the hearing for Barisan Nasional candidate Tan Sri M Ramasamy’s appeal to challenge the results of the 15th General Election (GE15) for the Segamat parliamentary seat. The new date for the hearing is set for August 1. The postponement was due to the unwell condition of lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
A request for the postponement was made by co-counsel Sarah Maalini Abishegam, and a three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof granted the request. The hearing was originally scheduled for Friday. Muhammad Shafee was on medical leave for severe migraine and vertigo.
Justice Zabariah, sitting with Justices Datuk Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim and Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, stated that the appeal will proceed on August 1 as a physical sitting.
During the online proceeding on Friday, Sarah informed the court that Muhammad Shafee had been advised to limit his movement to prevent him from falling.
The returning officer and the Election Commission (EC) were represented by Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan, while lawyer Lau Yi Leong, representing Segamat MP R Yuneswaran, did not object to the postponement.
In the 15th General Election held on November 19, Pakatan Harapan candidate Yuneswaran emerged victorious in the Segamat parliamentary seat with a majority of 5,669 votes. He was declared the elected Member of Parliament, defeating Ramasamy, Perikatan Nasional’s P Poobalan, and Pejuang’s Syed Hairoul Faizey.
Ramasamy, who is also the treasurer of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), subsequently filed a petition challenging the results of the election, seeking a declaration that the parliamentary election for the Segamat constituency was void and that Yuneswaran was not duly elected as MP. The respondents in his petition included Yuneswaran, the returning officer, and the EC.
On April 3, the Election Court judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid dismissed Ramasamy’s election petition after accepting the preliminary objections raised by the respondents. The objections were based on Ramasamy’s failure to comply with Rule 15(4) of the Election Petition Rules 1954 regarding the particulars of his affidavit of service, as well as his failure to comply with the Election Petition Rules regarding the facts pleaded in his petition, which were deemed insufficient to support the declarations sought. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
