Jasin parliamentary seat remains with BN, rules Federal Court

The court says Khairuddin Abu Hassan failed to prove his case.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today declared that the victory of Barisan Nasional in the Jasin parliamentary seat in last year’s general election is valid.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in upholding the decision of the election judge, said the appellant, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, had failed to prove his case.

“While there were some instances of non-compliance with the election law, the outcome did not affect the election results,” said Tengku Maimun, who led a five-member bench in dismissing Khairuddin’s appeal.

The bench also ordered Khairuddin to pay costs of RM30,000 to BN’s Ahmad Hamzah and another RM50,000 to the Election Commission and returning officer Zamrud Yahya.

Khairuddin, a former Umno leader, lost the contest by a 219-vote margin in a three-cornered fight.

Ahmad retained the seat for BN after securing 26,560 votes against Khairuddin’s 26,341. PAS candidate Abd Alim Shapie obtained 8,860 votes.

Khairuddin had filed his petition based on alleged discrepancies in Form 14, where some documents did not have the signature of the returning officer and others had the signatures of the candidate’s agents.

On June 12, new election judge Abu Bakar Jais said Khairuddin failed to prove that the discrepancies in the election forms raised by him had affected the final election results.

Khairuddin was also ordered to pay a total of RM400,000 in costs to Ahmad, the EC and its returning officer, a penalty said to be the highest imposed on a petitioner.

A total of 19 witnesses testified in the hearings that lasted 23 days.

Meanwhile, Khairuddin said he accepted the verdict but would continue to serve the people of Jasin as Pakatan Harapan’s coordinator for the constituency.

“We must take care of the people’s welfare,” he told reporters.

Ahmad was also present to follow the proceedings. - FMT