Appeals Court sets aside decision granting judicial review

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today set aside a High Court verdict that granted four Johor voters leave to commence judicial review to challenge the Election Commission's (EC) publication of the second notice of the proposed re-delineation exercise in the state.
A three-man bench comprising justices Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli and Datuk Kamardin Hashim made the decision after allowing the EC's appeal.
Mohd Zawawi, who chaired the court panel directed the appeal to proceed despite being informed by the voters' lawyer, Louis Liaw that he received instructions from his clients to withdraw their judicial review at the Johor High Court.
The court also rejected Liaw's request for an adjournment for the hearing of submissions.
Liaw told the court that he just received the signed copy of the notice of discontinuance today, and indicated to the court that the notice of discontinuance of the lawsuit would be submitted to the Johor High Court.
Liaw said it would be academic to proceed with the appeal as they were discontinuing the judicial review.
Senior federal counsel Datuk Amarjeet Singh informed the court that he was instructed to proceed with the appeal and the matter was still before the court as the notice of discontinuance of the judicial review had not been filed yet.
Mohd Zawawi said since the notice of discontinuance had not been filed yet, there was nothing before the court; hence, the court would have to proceed with the appeal.
Both Amarjeet Singh and Liaw then informed the court that they would rely on their written submissions without making oral submissions.
Mohd Zawawi, in his ruling, said after reading the written submissions, the court allowed the EC's appeal and set aside the High Court's order with no order as to costs.

On July 13, this year, the Johor Bahru High Court granted leave to four voters — Thomas Fann Peng Thong, Ng Siam Luang, Ang Yien Meei and Chong Mun Ying — to commence their judicial review to seek for a declaration that the EC's proposed recommendation for federal and state seats for Johor was unconstitutional.
They had named the EC, its chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah and secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh as the respondents in the application.
Fann is a voter in the Pulai parliamentary and Pengkalan Rinting state constituencies. The other three voters were from the Gelang Patah parliamentary and Skudai state seats.
The four had sought for certiorari order to quash the proposed recommendation, a mandamus to compel the EC to publish new recommendations in line with the Federal Constitution, and a stay of all proceedings for the proposed recommendations. — Bernama