Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and two others will be defending against incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago’s legal bid to halt the 15th general election (GE15) from taking place this year.
Ismail Sabri, the government, and the Election Commission (EC) have filed their memorandum of appearance at the Kuala Lumpur High Court just after midday today.
The trio are the three defendants named by the DAP lawmaker in the originating summons filed earlier on Monday.
Under the law for civil action following being served with the cause papers, a defendant who enters appearance means the defendant is going to defend himself or herself against the legal action.
According to a copy of the memorandum of appearance, it was filed by law firm Hafarizam Wan and Aisha Mubarak on behalf of Ismail Sabri, the government and EC.
Following this, the three defendants now have several options available, such as filing their statement of defence against the civil action.
In the civil suit, Charles is seeking a declaration that Ismail Sabri's request to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament was in contravention of Articles 40 (1) and (1A) of the Federal Constitution.
According to him, the request (to dissolve Parliament) was not made on the advice of the cabinet, and is, therefore, null and void.
Charles sought a declaration that the dissolution of Parliament was not in accordance with Article 55(2) and Article 40(1) and (1A) of the Federal Constitution, and called for an order to stop EC from taking any steps to conduct the election.
In his affidavit, he cited the rainy season and the ensuing flood risk as a reason to stop the election.
"My constituency of Klang, which has 210,662 voters, was among the worst hit in the floods last December, which saw at least 54 killed and displaced at least 71,000 people in Peninsular Malaysia," he said.
Charles further noted the Meteorological Department’s warning of flooding risks during the monsoon season in November and December.
He stressed that many political parties, except Umno, were against holding the election this year, due to the flood risk.
"In fact, 12 ministers from PAS and Perikatan Nasional had written to the Agong, expressing their disagreement with the election being held this year.
"The only party that wants the election to be held soonest is Umno," the DAP leader said.
With Umno MPs numbering only 37 out of the 222-strong Dewan Rakyat, the support for Parliament’s dissolution only accounts for about 17 percent of the MPs, he added.
As such, Charles questioned the validity of Ismail Sabri's request to dissolve Parliament.
"The request could have been made later, since the 14th Parliament's term ends only on July 16, 2023.
"However, for reasons unknown, the first defendant (Ismail Sabri) asked (for Parliament’s dissolution) so close to the flood season, which could affect the right of voters to cast their ballots," he said.
In a statement following the filing of the legal action, Charles said he had to resort to it since his repeated letters to the EC over flood mitigation plans have gone unheeded.
"Given the above reasons, I firmly believe that Ismail Sabri's advice to the Agong is void. As a consequence, I also believe that the dissolution of Parliament is of no legal effect.
"(By filing the originating summons) I want to categorically state that I am not challenging the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but only the advice given to him by Ismail Sabri.”
The originating summons is fixed for hearing on Oct 20. Charles is represented by counsel Surendra Ananth. - Mkini
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