KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali today said that he can now focus on work and his constituents after the High Court rejected Bersatu’s bid to commence legal action against him and three other MPs in an attempt to vacate their seats.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions, said he was thankful that the Court had ruled in his favour.
“Alhamdulillah, because to a certain extent when this case was brought to court and we waited for the Court’s decision and after a period of several months the Court decided that it did not have the authority to intervene or even review the decision made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives with particular reference to Article 63 of the Federal Constitution and also judicial precedents in the Federal Court before.
“So based on the precedent and also the provisions of the Constitution, the High Court judge has decided not to favour the party that brought this case to court,” Armizan told reporters here at the Parliament building.
Earlier today, the High Court dismissed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) leave application to initiate a judicial review on the grounds that the court did not have the power to review such a decision.
Bersatu had attempted to vacate four parliamentary seats in Sabah won by its former members during the 15th general election (GE15).
The party through its vice-president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee and public officer Datuk Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya had on April 17 filed the application.
The party named Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and four MPs — Armizan, Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang), as the respondents.
In the judicial review, Bersatu claimed that the four ceased to be Party members when they, having been elected as MPs, had chosen to sit on the government side of the Dewan Rakyat, showing a clear intention to leave Bersatu.
The party had claimed that the four MPs were issued with Notice of Cessation on December 21, and subsequently, gave a written notice to Johari under Article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution to inform him of the occurrence of a casual vacancy for the four constituencies.
Article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution states that the Speaker shall establish that there is a casual vacancy if the following conditions are met — having been elected to the House of Representatives as a member of a political party, or he resigns or ceases to be a member of the political party or joins another political party.
When asked about his reaction towards a former party comrade, Kiandee, who brought the case against the four MPs, Armizan said it was nothing personal.
“Politics is politics, however, my principle is that in life if we no longer want to be friends, don’t fight, or don’t become enemies, and he (Kiandee) has the right to bring the case to court and the court has decided.
“As a politician, the important thing is we accept the decision that the country’s judiciary arm has made,” he added.
Commenting on the anti-party hopping law, Armizan said the four MPs contested not only on the GRS ticket but also as direct members, direct membership of GRS as stated in the GRS Constitution which has been approved by the Registrar of Societies.
“So, in the last GE15, it was not just the GRS ticket, logos, and letter of appointment, but we contested in the capacity as direct members. Direct membership, because from the beginning we wanted our stance, the whip to be determined by GRS and not any other party,” Armizan said.
