Let the fight for Semenyih begin
... but will the by-election take place at all? Even as all the candidates have been announced, one voter in town is exercising her rights – she’s going ahead with an injunction to halt the polls.
PETALING JAYA:
The appointment of Election Commission (EC) members will not stop a voter from seeking an injunction to halt the Semenyih by-election.
Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, the lawyer for the voter, said his client would continue seeking the injunction although the EC was no longer a one-man show.
“The case is still relevant. Let the court decide on the validity of the EC’s meeting held on Jan 18 pertaining to the Semenyih by-election, as at the material time the EC consists of only the chairman,” he said.
Puan Sri Sabariah Mohd Shariff, a voter in Semenyih, filed a suit at the Shah Alam High Court on Monday challenging the EC’s locus standi to hold and conduct the Semenyih by-election.
In her suit, which is probably the first of its kind in the country, Sabariah named EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun, the EC and the federal government as the first, second and third defendants respectively.
The High Court fixed Monday for case management while the hearing will be on Tuesday.
Azhar was appointed EC chairman on Sept 21 and had been the only member of the commission after six others resigned en bloc on Jan 1.
Yesterday, the government announced the appointment of Universiti Malaya law lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Sharom as the new EC deputy chairman.
Four other new members of the commission are former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Ramlan Ibrahim, former Labour Department director-general Datuk Chin Phaik Yoong, Malaysia and International Studies Institute (Ikmas) senior fellow Prof Dr Faisal S. Hazis, and Zoe Randhawa of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0)
Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar said they would serve until the age of 66, in accordance with Article 114 (3) of the Federal Constitution.
Azmi, who is also a columnist for The Star, said he would relinquish his post to take up the new role.