Bid to refer illegal voter registration to Federal Court

Three days before nomination day, an overseas voter, S Dinesh, who claims he was illegally registered by the Election Commission, wants his application to strike his name off the electoral roll to be referred to the Federal Court.

His lawyer John Fam submitted at the Shah Alam High Court today that Section 9A of the Election Act had violated his client’s constitutional right in terms of Article 8 of the federal constitution regarding equality before the law and equal protection of the law.

“If my client had been fraudulently registered, which is an offence by the person responsible under the Penal Code for cheating and forgery, should he not be entitled to apply to strike out his name?

“Section 9A which states gazetted electoral rolls cannot be challenged acts contrary to the fundamental right of an individual to equal protection under the law as an aggrieved person must have access to a court of law,” he argued.

Fam said that his client had fraudulently been registered, where someone had allegedly used a photocopy of his identity card and he was allegedly registered by an assistant registrar from Umno by the name of Hishamuddin Kassim, whose services were terminated last year.

Following this, Fam asked that leave (permission) be granted for his client to initiate the judicial review proceedings to be heard by the Shah Alam High Court, or for Justice Vernon Ong to refer the constitutional matter to the Federal Court for interpretation.

Dinesh, 32, had named the EC and the Selangor EC registrar as respondents. He wants his name to be struck off from the electoral roll, and the EC to be compelled to perform its duties and other relief deemed fit by the court.

It was reported last month that Dinesh was fraudulently registered by Hishamuddin despite residing and working in Britain. Selangor EC chief had admitted that Hishamuddin had registered many dubious voters.

Klang MP Charles Santiago, who was present during the court proceedings, said besides Dinesh’s case there are 10 other people in his constituency who reside in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland and the United States who had complained that they have been registered as a voter despite not doing so. 

Justice Vernon will deliver his decision on April 24.