KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Yong Teck Lee and some 40 other Gabungan Sabah leaders were denied entry into the High Court here for about half an hour yesterday when they came to attend the hearing on a suit over the non-inclusion of Sabah’s 13 new state seats in the 14th General Election.
The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president and former chief minister, who is among seven leaders of Gabungan Sabah fi ling the suit on April 2 in a bid to compel the Prime Minister to table the new seats in Parliament, was stopped by court security offi cers at the gate.
They were however allowed to enter around 10am after they gave their assurance that they would be orderly.
High Court deputy registrar Elsie Primus told reporters that no instruction was given to prohibit Yong or his supporters from entering the court as it is a public place that everybody can come in as long as they promise to keep peace and obey the court’s procedures.
Elsie had rushed out from her office after being informed by court staff that there was a commotion outside. She said she received information that Yong’s supporters were not allowed to come in but she did not know who gave such instruction.
Meanwhile, High Judge Azhahari Kamal Ramli fixed April 23 to rule on whether the Prime Minister should have tabled the Election Commission (EC) report on the new seats in Parliament.
In his submission, senior federal counsel Andi Razalijaya A.
Dadi argued that the case is academic as the Parliament has already been dissolved and that the plaintiff has no legal Standing.
In the suit, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the Prime Minister should table as soon as maybe the Election Commission (EC) report to the House of Representatives.
When met at the court after the hearing in chambers, which lasted about two hours, counsel Yong Yit Jee, who acted for Yong, 60, Dato Shuaib Dato Mutalib, 61, Edward Dagul, 52, Japiril Suhaimin, 55, Linggu @ Edward Bukut, 60, Jovilis Majami, 39 and Anesthicia Usun, 37, said that if the PM did not table the report soon after it was given to him, the PM might have breached his constitutional duty under Section 9 of the Thirteen Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
The section states that “as soon as may be after the EC has submitted its report to the PM under Section 8 of the same Schedule, the PM shall lay the report before the House of Representative, 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 modifi cation, to the recommendation contained in the report”.
“This provision is mandatory,” the counsel explained the main point of the plaintiffs’ contention in the summons. The counsel also explained that in Malaysia, the Federal Government has three branches and these three branches exist in perpetuity meaning and it did not cease just because the parliament dissolved.
“There is always new members coming in, so in that case, the declaration will still affect the next PM, “ he said, adding that if the court allows the declaration, the next PM can table the EC report to the House of Representative.
On April 4, the seven plaintiffs had fi led the summons, naming the PM and EC of Malaysia as fi rst and second defendants, respectively.
Yit Jee was assisted by counsel Benazir Japiril Bandaran and Ken Yong.