Penang abandons legal battle on election boundaries

Under the law, a voter, local or state government can challenge the Election Commission’s redrawing of boundaries once in a minimum of eight years.

PUTRAJAYA: The Penang government has abandoned its legal battle in the Federal Court against the Election Commission’s (EC) conduct in the redelineation exercise, FMT has learnt.

Lawyer Leong Cheok Keng said he had received instruction from the state government that a leave to appeal application is not worth pursuing as the matter is now academic.

“It is a lost opportunity, but the state is prepared to challenge the EC on another day,” he told FMT.

He said he had informed the Federal Court registry of the matter, and that a notice of discontinuance was filed last Friday.

“Today’s scheduled leave to appeal application before a three-member apex court bench has been taken off the list,” he added.

Pakatan Harapan, led by DAP, was returned to power in Penang last year, winning 37 of the 40 seats in the legislative assembly despite claiming that the new boundaries were drawn to favour Barisan Nasional.

Under the law, a voter, local or state government can challenge the EC’s redrawing of boundaries once in a minimum of eight years.

The Selangor government, as well as voters elsewhere, filed judicial reviews in 2016 and 2017 questioning the EC’s method of redrawing boundaries.

However, the legal challenges were thrown out, with the courts declaring that the EC’s proposals cannot be questioned by way of judicial review.

The Court of Appeal ruled that aggrieved parties should attend local inquiries, or that MPs should challenge the EC’s recommendations when presented in the Dewan Rakyat.

On Feb 21 last year, a three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Idrus Harun dismissed Penang’s appeal, saying the judges were satisfied that the High Court had not committed any error in refusing leave.

The Penang government, which filed the action on June 5, 2017, sought a declaration that the recommendations submitted by the EC on March 8, 2017, were invalid as they violated Article 113 (6) of the Federal Constitution.

It also sought a declaration that the electoral roll used in the redelineation exercise was not the latest and that it lacked details allowing voters, the local authorities and the state government to challenge it.

The state sought a certiorari order for the EC’s recommendations to be quashed and the 2016 electoral roll to be revoked.

It also sought a mandamus order for the EC to draw up fresh proposals.

However, on Nov 20, 2017, High Court judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail refused the state government leave to bring the complaints for hearing. - FMT