PETALING JAYA: Former Klang MP Charles Santiago will instruct his lawyers to file an application in the Federal Court for leave to appeal against the dismissal of his suit to halt the 15th general election (GE15).
Earlier today, a three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by justice Azizah Nawawi said there was no merit in Santiago’s appeal, adding that the High Court was right to dismiss the suit on Oct 28 on grounds of non-justiciability.
Santiago said he “respectfully disagreed” with the Court of Appeal’s decision.
“While I understand this is academic given the fact that polling day is on Saturday, it’s crucial to determine if the Federal Constitution is the highest law of the land as it clearly states that the prime minister acts on the advice of the Cabinet.
“The court did not make any findings on whether (Prime Minister) Ismail Sabri Yaakob was empowered to unilaterally request for the dissolution of Parliament since it found the matter to be non-justiciable,” he said in a statement.
Azizah said it was the absolute discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to accede to the request of the prime minister to dissolve Parliament and it could not be brought to court on grounds of non-justiciability.
She said the Election Commission could not be restrained or prohibited from performing its duty under the Federal Constitution.
On Oct 28, justice Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid dismissed Santiago’s suit, ruling that the dissolution of Parliament was non-justiciable and could not be entertained by a court of law.
He said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was the ultimate decision maker as to whether to dissolve the Dewan Rakyat if requested to do so by the prime minister.
In dismissing Santiago’s suit, the judge also held that the prime minister was not bound by the Cabinet’s advice and did not need its approval to advise the King to dissolve Parliament.
The three-term MP had sought a declaration that Ismail’s request for the dissolution of Parliament contravened the constitution as it was not made on the advice of the Cabinet. - FMT
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