KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional has lost the Kemaman parliamentary seat after the Kuala Terengganu High Court allowed the petition to annul the November election results.
Judge Datuk Anselm Charles Fernandis has allowed the petition filed by a voter known as Wan Mohamad Hisham Wan Abdul Jalil to nullify the victory garnered by Che Alias Hamid of PAS, reported Bernama.
The court ordered the respondent to pay RM30,000 to the petitioner.
“I find corruption was committed with the knowledge of the respondent. I declare the general election result for Kemaman which was held on 19th November (last year) is void… The money given was to induce votes.
“(If it was a state government’s initiative) I considered that after the election it could still happen, but it happened a few days before the general election. All politicians should know the effect,” he was quoted as saying.
“No doubt the state government still existed during that time (because the GE and state election were held separately) but that did not mean that the kind of programmes (fund distribution) should be held so close to the GE date.”
He added that the programmes should be held after or before the campaign period to avoid the elements of inducement.
The official programme said to be organised by the Terengganu government included the Bantuan i-Belia and i-Siswa and contributions for the disabled and asnaf (tithe recipients).
Representing the petitioner is Datuk Hafarizam Harun while PAS is represented by Wan Rohaimi Wan Daud.
Che Alias of PAS won the seat with a 65,714 majority, beating Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, PKR’s Hasuni Sudin, and Pejuang’s Rosli Ab Ghani.
On May 2, the Federal Court ordered two election petitions filed to challenge the 15th general election results of the Masjid Tanah and Kemaman parliamentary constituencies to be sent back to the high courts for a full hearing of the merits.
BN candidate for the Masjid Tanah parliamentary constituency Abdul Hakim Abdul Wahid and voter Wan Mohamad Hisham’s election petitions were respectively struck out by the Melaka and Terengganu election courts on February 7 and February 12 this year after the courts accepted the preliminary objections raised by the respondents in both cases.
According to Terengganu Umno chief Ahmad Said, among the points raised in the petition were allegations that PAS bribed voters by distributing financial aid from the state government through the i-Pencen, i-Belia and i-Siswa initiatives between November 15 and 17, 2022, a few days before the general election. – September 26, 2023