High Court to examine EC’s decision on Perak?

Written by Chua Sue-Ann, The Edge

The Election Commission’s (EC) refusal to call by-elections in Changkat Jering, Behrang and Jelapang could come under scrutiny should the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 4 decide to hear a suit brought by former Perak speaker V Sivakumar.

Judge Lau Bee Lan yesterday fixed the new hearing date for Sivakumar’s leave application after hearing submissions in chambers by his lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah and senior federal counsel Datuk Kamaludin Mohd Said.

Sivakumar filed the suit here on March 10 against the EC and three independent assemblymen — Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang), Mohd Osman Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) — in a bid to compel the EC to hold fresh elections in the three Perak state constituencies.

Kamaludin told reporters that he had objected to Sivakumar’s leave application on grounds that his suit had been rendered academic by the Federal Court’s ruling on April 9 that the EC, not the speaker, was the rightful entity to determine casual vacancies in seats.

However, Sivakumar’s counsel Razlan Hadri Zulkifli said even if the EC was the authority to determine a seat’s status, Sivakumar could still challenge the EC’s decision. “We are challenging whether the EC made the correct decision (in refusing by-elections)… it is still a live issue,” Razlan said.

Lau also fixed July 28 for Sivakumar and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to file new affidavits in view of the Federal Court’s decision.

Sivakumar was also seeking an injunction to prevent the three independents from carrying out the functions and duties of assemblymen and to compel them to show the authority on which they were still the valid representatives of their constituencies.