KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu has withdrawn its lawsuit against Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul over his refusal to declare the seats of five former party MPs vacant.
The decision was conveyed by lawyer Chetan Jethwani, who represents Bersatu, during proceedings at the High Court here today.
The withdrawal follows a recent Federal Court decision rejecting an application for leave to appeal in a separate case involving four parliamentary seats in Sabah, which were also not declared vacant by Johari.
Bersatu had filed the suit after arguing that the five MPs had effectively lost their seats under party rules and the anti-party hopping provisions of the Federal Constitution.
However, the Speaker had maintained that the seats could not be declared vacant based on the circumstances presented to the Dewan Rakyat.
Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, who represents the five MPs, asked the court to award RM10,000 in costs.
The dispute stems from a broader political row over Bersatu lawmakers who withdrew support for the party leadership but retained their parliamentary seats, prompting legal challenges over whether the anti-defection law applies in such situations. – March 5, 2026