UPDATED @ 12:46:29 PM 05-08-2010
August 05, 2010
Zaid was deemed to have not provided substance to his claims of general bribery. — file pic
Azahar stressed that the petition was “fundamentally defective” and the court does not believe that the respondent should respond to “defective charges”.
The petition against Kamalanathan was under section 10(a), 10(c) and 10(e) of the Election Offences Act.
Azahar added that Zaid had failed to provide “substance” or material on the people alleged to have received bribes and how election promises by the respondent had influenced the results.
BN had promised RM3 million to a Chinese school in Rasa and RM160,000 per acre to Sungai Buaya Felda settlers during the by-election.
The former de facto law minister filed the election petition on May 24 alleging that corruption had taken place and wanted the court to declare the outcome of the by-election null and void.
He named Kamalanathan, returning officer Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan, and the Election Commission (EC) as the respondents.Zaid, who is now the PKR Federal Territory chief, was defeated by Kamalanathan in the Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 by a majority of 1,725 votes.
Subsequent to Zaid’s filing, the MIC information chief had applied to strike out the petition on the grounds that it was scandalous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.
Kamalanathan was represented by Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun Firoz and Cheng Mai, while Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan and Mohd Azhar Mohd Yusof appeared for Nor Hisham and the EC.
Zaid was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Azahar Azizan Harun, Ang Hean Leng and Leong Sher How.
Outside the courtroom, Kamalanathan expressed gratitude for the ruling and the opportunity to continue serving his constituency.
“I would like to thank my lawyers. I would also like to thank God for his blessing. I am grateful to God for allowing me to continue my struggle in Hulu Selangor. Now, I can finally call myself as the member of parliament for Hulu Selangor,” he said.
His counsel, Mohd Azhar, added that today’s decision could be construed as a vindication of BN and its practice of promising development prior to elections, which has brought about accusations of corruption.
“The judge today has indirectly agreed that promises for development cannot be considered as bribery. Therefore with this decision, it is clear that the statements made by the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak), who is also the finance minister, are statements specifically aimed to help the people and cannot be construed as an act of bribery,” said Mohd Azhar.
However Zaid’s counsel, Azahar Azizan, maintained that the respondent had committed general bribery.
“He (Justice Azahar Mohamed) did not rule that those allegations do not constitute corrupt practices or general bribery.
“So there is no determination by the learned judge that corruption practice or general bribery did not take place during the by-election in Hulu Selangor so the allegations were not dismissed on the merit,” he said.
Justice Azahar Mohamed said that Zaid had failed to provide “substance” or material on the people alleged to have received bribes and how election promises by the respondent had influenced the results.
I guess how election promises can influence the result of an election is very hard to prove.
Let's say a voter publicly says that he's going to vote for PR but he votes for BN on the day of election after BN promises a lot of goodies.
How to prove that his decision has been influenced by the promise made unless his word and action have been recorded?
Let's say a voter publicly says that he's going to vote for PR but he votes for BN on the day of election after BN promises a lot of goodies.
How to prove that his decision has been influenced by the promise made unless his word and action have been recorded?
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