Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the lead counsel for BN candidate M Ramasamy in the appeal linked to an election petition over the Segamat parliamentary seat, was unwell and on medical leave (MC) today.
As a result, the apex court postponed to Aug 1 the hearing of Ramasamy’s appeal in the petition that targeted the electoral victory of Pakatan Harapan’s R Yuneswaran in the seat in last year’s 15th general election (GE15).
A three-person Federal Court bench chaired by judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof this morning allowed the deferment application by Ramasamy’s co-counsel Sarah Malini Abishegam.
She informed the bench - also comprised of apex court judges Hasnah Mohammed Hashim and Mary Lim - that Shafee (above) was already unwell when he arrived back from overseas earlier this week.
She said that following Shafee appearing in the trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption case two days ago as well as yesterday, Shafee’s health took a turn for the worse last night.
criminal court trial
She added that Shafee’s condition was still the same this morning, hence the lead counsel being forced to take an MC for today. She also apologised on behalf of Shafee over the need for adjournment.
When Zabariah asked lawyer Lau Yi Leong and senior federal counsel Suzana Atan - who represented Yuneswaran and the Election Commission (EC) respectively - the duo said they have no objections to the postponement.
The bench then deferred today’s appeal hearing to Aug 1 next week.
On April 26, Ramasamy, appealed to the Federal Court over the Muar High Court’s decision to reject his election petition.
In last November’s national polls, Yuneswaran emerged won by 5,669 votes ahead of the MIC man and two others.
According to Bernama, Ramasamy filed a notice for appeal on April 14.
In his petition, the BN candidate sought the nullification of the contest for the Segamat seat and that Yuneswaran should not be a member of Parliament.
However, High Court judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, in his written judgment, said the petition should not be based on inferences or assumptions but facts.
The judge said he agreed with Yuneswaran’s lawyer that Ramasamy’s petition did not contain accurate and clear material facts.
Radzi also accepted the preliminary objection by Yuneswaran, the returning officer for the Segamat parliamentary seat, and the Election Commission that the petition be rejected.
The preliminary objection included Ramasamy’s failure to adhere to the requirements of the Election Offences Act 1954 (EOA) in relation to his affidavit.
Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported that the judge commented on Ramasamy’s allegation that the Harapan candidate had “corruptly” given food to voters during an event at a Chinese temple to influence them.
“The single act of treating at the temple cannot be presupposed to have affected the result of the election under Section 32(a) of EOA,” the judge said, adding that the MIC man also failed to establish the identities of those who attended the event to prove they were indeed voters in the constituency.
Ramasamy, who had lodged a police report on the matter, also accused Yuneswaran and his agents of violating election rules on campaign material.
Apart from this, he also claimed the Harapan candidate distributed food parcels to voters when campaigning. - Mkini
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