The Kangar High Court today struck out a writ of summons filed by three former Perlis assemblypersons, who had sought to challenge the speaker's decision to declare their seats vacant.
Judge Abazafree Abbas, in his ruling, allowed state speaker Rus'sele Eizan's application to dismiss the legal action filed by Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong), and Saad Seman (Chuping) in January.
The judge held that the former assemblypersons' challenge, which questioned matters considered by the speaker in making decisions related to the state assembly, was generally not justiciable by the courts.
Abazafree stated that the validity of proceedings within the state assembly cannot be questioned in any court, with this immunity arising from the doctrine of separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
"The defendant's decision as speaker is clearly connected to essential matters and falls within the parameters of the Federal Constitution and the Perlis state constitution.
“As such, it is generally not subject to judicial review, even if made outside assembly proceedings, as long as it remains within the scope of powers conferred upon him," he said.
‘Speaker performed his duty’
Elaborating, the judge said that in exercising its powers under Article 50A of the Perlis state constitution, the court took the view that the speaker has a duty to confirm that a casual vacancy has occurred and to notify the Election Commission accordingly.
He added that the speaker's action cannot be challenged in court as long as it is carried out within the constitutional powers conferred upon him and relates to the internal affairs of the state assembly.
"Generally, if a matter is not justiciable by the courts, it ought to be struck out under Order 18, Rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2012, as it is deemed to disclose no reasonable cause of action, to be frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of the court process," he said.
Abazafree also allowed the application to strike out the writ of summons, with no order as to costs.
Counsel Yusfarizal Yussoff, Wan Rohimi Wan Daud and Faizi Che Abu represented the Perlis state assembly speaker, while lawyer Jamil Yaacob appeared for the three former assemblypersons.
Declared casually vacant
The legal dispute traces back to Jan 2, when the three former assemblypersons filed a writ of summons against Rus'sele over his declaration that their seats had fallen vacant.
Rus'sele subsequently filed an application to strike out the writ in February.
The vacancies were first announced on Dec 25 last year, when Rus'sele declared that the Chuping, Bintong, and Guar Sanji seats had become casually vacant after the three PAS representatives' membership ceased with immediate effect, in accordance with Article 50A(1)(a)(ii) of the Perlis state constitution.
That decision followed a statement by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang on Dec 24, 2025, confirming that the three assemblypersons' membership had ceased under the party's constitution.
- Bernama
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.