KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has been told that the lawsuit filed by incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago to challenge the 14th Parliament's dissolution has been rendered academic following the Election Commission's (EC) announcement that Nov 19 will be the 15th General Election (GE15) polling date.
Lawyer Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, who represented the defendants in Santiago's lawsuit, said this to Justice Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid in the middle of a hearing of an application filed by caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to strike out Santiago's lawsuit here on Thursday (Oct 20).
Earlier Thursday, the EC announced the Nov 19 polling date as well as Nov 5 for nomination day and Nov 15 for early voting.
"Therefore, the originating summons filed by the plaintiff (Santiago) should be dismissed by the court as it is now academic," Zulkefli said to the judge.
Earlier, Zulkefli, a former Court of Appeal president, submitted that the prerogative power to dissolve the Parliament was vested solely on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Citing case law, Zulkefli said there was no distinction whether the dissolution was pursuant to a request or advice.
"There is no doubt that the power to dissolve Parliament remains at the sole discretion of the King.
"It is trite that matters concerning the dissolution of Parliament are non-justiciable," he added.
On Oct 11, Santiago filed the originating summons to seek a court order in his bid to stop GE15 due to the rainy season and floods.
He named Ismail Sabri in his capacity as prime minister at the time, the Government and the Election Commission as the first, second and third defendants, respectively.
Meanwhile, Santiago's lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar argued that the significance of the Cabinet's role played in deciding whether the King should be advised to dissolve Parliament cannot be downplayed.
"It is indisputable that severe floods are predicted to occur in November and December, even from as early as September.
"Following the floods that occurred in December 2021, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"As evident from the floods last year, the existence of a functioning Cabinet is critical in order to make important decisions," he said.
He said although a caretaker government would be present after the dissolution of Parliament, it cannot make important policy decisions or commit the incoming government into expenditure.
"The EC has not come up with any plan as to how the conduct the general election during the flood reason," he said.
Malik also argued that Santiago's lawsuit was not academic as GE15 was yet to be held.
The court has fixed Oct 28 to deliver its decision.
In his lawsuit, Santiago wants a court declaration that Ismail Sabri's request to the King on Oct 9 for the dissolution contravened Article 40(1) and 40(1A) of the Federal Constitution as the request was made by sidestepping the Cabinet and is therefore null and void.
He is seeking a declaration that the 14th Parliament's dissolution on Oct 10 was not in accordance with Article 55(2) of the Federal Constitution and therefore has no legal effect.
He said his constituency, Klang, was one of the badly affected places during the flood.
Santiago claimed that Ismail Sabri had made the request to the King for the Parliament dissolution to take place on a "personal basis" without the support of the Cabinet ministers.
He said voters would be forced to risk their lives to exercise their right to vote in the elections.
On Oct 14, Ismail Sabri filed an application to strike out Santiago's lawsuit on grounds that the declaration by the King to dissolve the 14th Parliament was non-justiciable and could not be disputed in a court of law.
