Court rejects election petitions for Sipitang, Sook and Kundasang

The Election Court has rejected the petition filed against Yamani Hafez Musa. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Yamani Hafez Musa will get to keep his Sipitang parliamentary seat after the Election Court today struck out a Warisan election petition that sought to nullify his victory in the May 9 general election.

However, it is unclear when Yamani, who is the son of former chief minister Musa Aman, will take his oath in the Dewan Rakyat. The former Sabah Umno youth chief is the only elected representative who has yet to be sworn in as an MP.

The Election Court also struck out the election petitions for the Sook and Kundasang state seats that were filed by Warisan.

PBRS’ Ellron Angin and PBS’ Dr Joachim Gunsalam had won the respective seats in the 14th general election (GE14).

Sibu-based High Court Judge Lee Heng Cheong allowed their preliminary objections to strike out the election petitions against them.

The decisions were delivered in chambers.

Counsel Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad, who represented the elected representatives, told reporters that the court held that the three petitioners had failed to meet the mandatory requirement of the election petition rule.

Tengku Fuad said for the Sook petition, the court held that the petitioner failed to file three physical copies of the election petition at the court registry.

He said the court also deemed that the election petition did not have sufficient facts to sustain it at trial.

He said the judge also ordered RM20,000 cost to be paid to each respondent and RM5,000 to the second respondent (returning officer) and the third defendant (the Election Commission) of each petition.

The election petition for Sipitang was filed by Warisan candidate Noor Hayaty Mustapha, 48.

Martin Tomy @ Tommy, 58, and Siriman @ Mohd Fazid Basir, 60, filed the election petitions for the Sook and Kundasang state seats respectively. -FMT