PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi gets to keep the Bagan Datoh seat in Perak as the Federal Court here yesterday dismissed two appeals to nullify the election result for that parliamentary constituency.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, chairing a five-member panel, unanimously dismissed the appeals brought by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Madhi Hassan and a registered voter, Azmi Sulaiman.
He said the appellants had cited April 19, 2013, as the date on which an alleged act of bribery was committed by Ahmad Zahid as the election candidate.
However, April 19 was the eve of nomination for the general election in 2013 and Ahmad Zahid was not yet a candidate on that day, he added.
Madhi had alleged that Ahmad Zahid had been involved in bribery by giving RM100 cash and five bags of rice bearing the BN logo through one R. Supramaniam to one Mustofa Saifudin, a registered voter in the area.
Azmi had alleged that Ahmad Zahid had appointed some 24,000 workers to give out cash and rice to people on duty in the constituency during the election.
The Federal Court panel also comprised Federal Court judges Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Tan Sri Hasan Lah and Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.
Justice Arifin also ordered Madhi and Azmi to each pay RM25,000 in legal costs to Ahmad Zahid.
On Feb 19 this year, the Election Court struck out the petitions filed by Mahdi and Azmi after ruling that they did not have sufficient facts to support allegations that Ahmad Zahid was involved in corrupt practices.
Ahmad Zahid garnered a 2,108-majority vote to defeat Madhi in the 13th General Election held in May last year.
Ahmad Zahid was represented by lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin; Madhi, by lawyer Edmund Bon and Azmi, by lawyer New Sin Yew. — Bernama