KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 10): The High Court’s decision on whether to strike out a suit by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and four others challenging the appointment of Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said as one of his deputies, has been deferred until Jan 18 next year.
Counsels Amer Hamzah Arshad and New Sin Yew, who represented Azhar and Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, confirmed this with theedgemarkets.com.
“The decision has been deferred due to the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and the Jan 18 date has been agreed by both parties,” said Amer Hamzah.
High Court Justice Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid was supposed to deliver his decision this afternoon.
The parties last appeared in the court on Sept 22, with Amer Hamzah arguing that the appointment of Azhar is non-justiciable as they are matters within the legislature.
Azalina and Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Batcha Mydin were represented by lawyer Tania Scivetti, while counsels Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla and Rafique Rashid Ali appeared for Dr Mahathir and others.
Dr Mahathir, along with former Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik, Kubang Pasu Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah and Sri Gading MP Datuk Dr Shaharuddin Md Salleh, filed the suit on July 23, naming Azhar, Mohd Rashid, Azalina and Nizam Mydin as defendants.
Among the five plaintiffs, four are members of the newly-formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, while Mazlee announced he was leaving the political party this month.
In the suit, they are questioning the legality of Azhar and Azalina's appointments, and are seeking a declaration from the court that the posts of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker have remained vacant since July 13 as the appointments of the defendants are in breach of Article 57 of the Federal Constitution and Dewan Rakyat’s Rules 3, 4, 6 and 47, and should thus be nullified.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that a 14-day period of nomination is required following the vacancies on July 13, and that the appointments to fill the posts must undergo a period of nomination, debates and voting to make them legitimate.
The plaintiffs alleged that Mohd Rashid’s announcement that there was only one candidate, namely Azhar, for the Speaker’s post was illegal, as was Azhar’s announcement that Azalina was appointed a Deputy Speaker, because the MPs were not given time to nominate other candidates.
In addition, they claimed that Nizam Mydin’s announcement that Azhar was the new Speaker was illegal as it did not follow the rules of the Lower House.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Dr Mahathir said he believes the court could hear this challenge despite it involving the legislature as the court is empowered to do so under Article 121 of the Federal Constitution.