Alleged assault by Perak speaker: Sivakumar loses appeal

Former Perak state assembly speaker V Sivakumar has failed in his appeal to restore his civil suit against current speaker R Ganesan for alleged assault, battery and wrongful detention.

Court of Appeal judges Abdul Malik Ishak, KN Segara and Abdul Wahab Patail today unanimously dismissed Sivakumar's appeal and ordered him to pay RM20,000 costs.

They did not give their grounds for dismissing the Tronoh assemblyman's appeal.

Sivakumar had appealed against the Ipoh High Court's decision on Sept 8 last year dismissing his suit on the grounds that the court could not interfere or question the validity of any proceedings in any state legislative assembly by virtue of Article 72 (1) of the Federal Constitution.

He took the legal action following the state assembly sitting on May 7 last year where he alleged that he was forcefully held, dragged and removed from the assembly hall on Ganesan's orders.

He sought damages and an injunction to restrain Ganesan or his agents from prohibiting him to exercise his duties as the speaker.

'Triable matter'

Today, Sivakumar's lawyer, Chan Kok Keong, said the matter set out in the suit was triable to determine whether Sivakumar's alleged assault and wrongful confinement had happened during the state assembly proceedings in order for Ganesan to be protected with immunity.

He said Ganesan's election and action to order Sivakumar's removal was outside the assembly proceedings because it was done before the Raja Muda of Perak delivered his official address.

Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, counsel for Ganesan, said his client was exercising his duties as a lawful speaker within the powers granted to him under the Perak constitution, standing orders and parliamentary practice.

He said on that day, the assembly had resolved respectively to remove Sivakumar with the support of the majority of 31 assemblymen and to subsequently elect Ganesan as speaker.

Firoz said that after Ganesan was appointed as the new speaker, he ordered Sivakumar to return to his Tronoh assembly seat but the latter refused repeatedly, compelling Ganesan to take action to have Sivakumar removed from the speaker's chair.

- Bernama