PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court three-man bench has scheduled the delivery of its verdict on August 18 for the appeal by Tan Sri M. Ramasamy, who is seeking a full trial for his election petition challenging the results of the 15th General Election (GE15) for the Segamat parliamentary constituency.
Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof, the chair of the bench, said that the court was unable to reach a decision on August 1 and set the verdict for August 18 at 3pm.
Ramasamy is appealing against the Election Court’s decision to strike out his petition. The bench, which also includes Justices Hasnah Mohammed Hashim and Mary Lim Thiam Suan, heard arguments from Ramasamy’s counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, as well as lawyers Lau Yi Leong and Suzana Atan representing Segamat Member of Parliament R. Yuneswaran and the returning officer and Election Commission (EC) respectively.
Muhammad Shafee argued that Ramasamy’s petition, which challenges Yuneswaran’s victory in the GE15 for the Segamat parliamentary seat, should be sent back to the Election Court for a full trial. This would enable witnesses to provide evidence on alleged corrupt intentions by Yuneswaran, who was the candidate for Pakatan Harapan.
He claimed that the allegation that food was given in a Chinese temple with the intention to influence voters in favor of Yuneswaran raises a prima facie case of an offense under Section 8 of the Election Offences Act 1954.
Muhammad Shafee also argued that Ramasamy properly complied with the requirements of the Election Petition Rules 1954 by including sufficient material facts to support his case. Additionally, he pointed out a non-compliance with the Election Offences Act, as Form A on the oath of secrecy was not signed by Yuneswaran’s representative before the returning officer and had been pre-signed by the officer.
The Election Court judge erred when stating that the act of treating people at a temple on November 18 last year cannot be implied to have presupposed the result of the election petition, according to Muhammad Shafee.
On April 3, the Election Court judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid struck out Ramasamy’s election petition, accepting the preliminary objection by the respondents that it was defective due to non-compliance with 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 the 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 in that constituency. In his petition, he seeks a declaration that the parliamentary election for the Segamat constituency was void and that Yuneswaran was not duly elected.
The respondents named in the petition include Yuneswaran, the returning officer, and the EC.
During the proceedings, Yuneswaran’s counsel argued that Ramasamy’s petition lacked sufficient material facts regarding corrupt intentions and failed to provide crucial details, rendering it defective. He stressed the importance of complying with the Election Petition Rules.
– Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
