Mat Sabu and his lawyer may have to vote from court

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu and party central committee member Mohamad Hanipa Maidin may not be able to attend the party's 59th muktamar tomorrow as they will have to be at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Hanipa (right) disclosed that they faced the prospect of having to cast their votes from court tomorrow afternoon should the court not allow an adjournment.

"Whatever it is, both of us will be in court tomorrow morning and are unlikely to attend the opening of the muktamar by party president Abdul Hadi Awang, as the court had not allowed an adjournment.

"But we will try to ask a short adjournment after Mat Sabu testifies in court to facilitate us casting our votes in the afternoon. If this is not allowed, we hope the party will allow us to vote from court," he told Malaysiakini this evening.

This follows a suit brought by Election Commission deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar against Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali, Harakah printer Angkatan Edaran Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Harakah chief editor Ahmad Lutfi Othman and the writer, Aziz Muda.

The publication of two articles dated February this year in the PAS publication Harakah titled 'Wan Ahmad Tak Boleh Dipercayai' and 'Ragu Peranan SPR - Wan Ahmad Omar Mesti Letak Jawatan' are claimed to be libelous to the EC deputy chairperson.

Wan Ahmad (right) testified in the hearing today and according to Hanipa, Mat Sabu will testify as the first defendant in the suit tomorrow.

Hanipa is representing Mat Sabu and the other defendants in the suit while Wan Ahmad is represented by Umno linked lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun.

According to the PAS central committee member, they had applied for an adjournment to attend the muktamar as it is held once in every two years but Hafarizam vehemently objected it resulting in them having to be in court tomorrow.