Kota Kinabalu: Independent Tenom MP Riduan Rubin retained the seat after the Election Court here on Wednesday rejected an election petition filed against him by Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) President Datuk Peter Anthony.
Judge Dean Wayne Daly allowed the notice of application by Riduan (first respondent) and the preliminary objection raised by Tenom general election Returning Officer Mas Syazwan Masood, Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Ghani Salleh and the Election Commission, who were the second, third and fourth respondents, respectively, to strike out the petition.
The judge ruled that Peter’s petition was not in compliance with Rule 4(1)(b) of the Election Petition Rules read with Section 32(b) of the Election Offences Act.
Dean also ruled that Peter was convicted under Article 48(1)(e) at the time of nomination and was therefore disqualified under Article 48(5) of the Federal Constitution from contesting in the 15th General Election (GE15). The petitioner was convicted of an offence under Section 468 of the Penal Code on May 26, 2022 and sentenced by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for an offence under section 468 of the Penal Code, but had filed an appeal against both the conviction and sentence.
Dean struck out the petition and declared Riduan duly elected as Tenom MP.
He ordered a RM20,000 cost to be awarded to Riduan and RM20,000 to the second, third and fourth respondents.
Peter was represented by counsel Datuk Ansari Abdullah and Erveanna Ansari, while Riduan was represented by counsel Datuk Tengku Datuk Fuad, Wilson Chang, Elton John and Syed Anwar Shariff Abdullah.
Senior Federal Counsel Asliza Ali and Federal Counsel M. Barath acted for the second to fourth respondents.
In the petition filed on Jan 3, this year, Peter was seeking a court order to determine that Riduan was not duly elected as Tenom MP during GE15.
The petitioner was also seeking a declaration that his nomination as a candidate in the constituency during GE15 was valid and lawful, and that it be declared that the said election held on Nov 15 and 19, 2022 was null and void.
Peter, among others, claimed that on the nomination day, the second respondent allegedly informed him that there was an objection and rejection of his nomination by the third respondent.
The second respondent also informed Peter that the second respondent had accepted his nomination as a candidate for the said election and that there was also no objection or directive to the contrary from the Sabah EC Director on the second respondent’s decision.
Ansari, when met by the media after the proceedings, said he received instruction from Peter that they would appeal to the Federal Court against the decision.
Meanwhile, Riduan, who was present in court accompanied by his supporters, said he was happy with the outcome and said he now could focus on continuing his work as Tenom MP.
Riduan won the five-cornered fight for Tenom parliamentary seat after polling 10,027 votes.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.