Appeal by Yong, six others over EC report dismissed

KOTA KINABALU: A politician and six individuals have failed to get a declaration from the Court of Appeal here to have then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to table an Election Commission (EC) report to Parliament after the report had been submitted to Najib before the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

The three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, who sat together with Justices Datuk Yaacob Haji Md Sam and Datuk Yew Jen Kie, unanimously dismissed the appeal by former Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee, 60, who is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president and six others, namely Datuk Shuaib Dato Mutalib, 61, Edward Dagul, 52, Japiril Suhaimin, 55, Linggu @ Edward Bukut, 60, Jovilis Majami, 39 and Anesthicia Usun, 37, yesterday, which was filed on May 3, 2018.

In affirming the lower court's verdict, the judges held that a declaration sought in OS are but a restatement of the duties of the PM provided under the Federal Constitution relating to the submission of the EC report on delineation given that the appellants' abundance on the prayer for mandamus order.

The court ruled that the granting of the declaration sought was academic because no actual relief was sought by the appellants.

Therefore, the court dismissed the appeal with cost of RM5,000 to the respondent.

On April 4, 2018, the seven plaintiffs had filed their OS naming the former PM Najib and the EC of Malaysia as first and second defendants respectively.

The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the PM shall present or table the report to Parliament as soon as possible after the report had been submitted to him.

In their summons, the group stated that the PM had allegedly breached his constitutional duty under Section 9 of the Thirteen Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

The said Section 9 says that “as soon as may be after the EC have submitted their report to the PM under Section 8 of the same Schedule, the PM shall lay the report before the House of Representatives, together (except in a case where the report states that no alteration is required to be made) with the draft of an order to be made under Section 12 for giving effect, with or without modification, to the recommendation contained in the report”.

The plaintiffs did not succeed on their first attempt to get the declaration after the High Court here on April 28, 2018, dismissed their OS and the grounds of dismissing it were the plaintiffs had no legal standing to do so and that the issue was academic as parliament had been dissolved on April 7, 2018.

Counsel Yong Yit Jee and Ken Yong represented the plaintiffs while Senior Federal Counsel Azizan Md Arshad and Andi Razalijaya A Dadi acted for the respondent.