KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has fixed Feb 19 next year to deliver its decision in an application by the Elections Commission (EC), Bersatu and the Kelantan state assembly Speaker to strike out an originating summons filed by former Nenggiri assemblyman Mohd Azizi Abu Naim.
Justice Roz Mawar Rozain set the date after hearing submissions from parties in an in-chamber proceedings here on Wednesday (Dec 18).
Senior Federal Counsel M Kogilambigai represented the EC and the government during the proceedings.
Also present was lawyer Chetan Jethwani who acted for Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and party sec-gen Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin while lawyer Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud acted for the Kelantan Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.
Earlier, Awang Armadajaya submitted to the court that it was an undisputed fact that the by-elections for the State Seat N43 Nenggiri had concluded on Aug 17 and the candidate by the name of Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani has been elected for the seat.
"It is equally undisputed that the plaintiff (Mohd Azizi) refused, neglected and failed to offer himself as a candidate in the by-election, notwithstanding there is no impediment, legal or otherwise for him to enter the fray.
"To put the record straight, there is no impediment, legal or otherwise for the plaintiff to name Mohd Azmawi Fikri who has been elected for Nenggiri seat as one of the defendants," he said.
He said Mohd Azmawi Fikri, the winning candidate, should be given the right to be heard since he stood to lose the most if the originating summons and the reliefs sought were allowed.
"For the reasons stated above, this lawsuit should be struck out because it discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence, as the case may be scandalous, frivolous and vexatious.
"It may also prejudice or delay the fair trial of the action and an abuse of the process of the court," said Awang Armadajaya.
Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam who represented Mohd Azizi told the court that his client may withdraw the lawsuit against the EC.
On June 24, Mohd Azizi, as the plaintiff, filed the originating summons and named Muhyiddin, Hamzah, Mohd Amar and the EC as the first to fourth defendants.
In the originating summons, Mohd Azizi, who was also Gua Musang MP at that time, sought a declaration that the by-election for the Nenggiri state seat could not be held or conducted by the EC (the fourth defendant) as the plaintiff still held the seat.
He is also seeking a court declaration that his dismissal from the political party in a notice dated June 12 was not valid, that the notice itself was not valid, and that his dismissal was done with mala fide (in bad faith).
Mohd Azizi said that an amendment made to Article 10 of the Bersatu constitution, which said a member’s membership would be terminated when the member supported a political rival, was unconstitutional.
On June 27, the High Court here rejected the interim injunction application by Mohd Azizi to stop the EC from conducting the by-election for the state seat in Kelantan, after finding that Mohd Azizi did not suffer from any irreparable harm as he could still participate in the by-election.
