PARTI Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) has withdrawn its lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul over his refusal to declare five parliamentary seats held by former party members as vacant.
The party’s lawyer, Chetan Jethwani, informed Judge Mahazan Mat Taib on Thursday that Bersatu had no option but to withdraw the entire suit following a Federal Court ruling on January 9 which rejected the party’s application for leave to appeal in a separate legal effort concerning a similar dispute.
The earlier Federal Court decision involved Bersatu’s challenge to the Speaker’s refusal to declare four parliamentary seats in Sabah vacant.
The rejection effectively ended the party’s attempt to pursue the matter through the courts, prompting the withdrawal of the current suit.
Lawyers Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin and Michael Anthony, representing the five Members of Parliament named in the suit, requested that the court award RM100,000 in costs, arguing that substantial legal work had already been carried out in relation to the case.
However, Federal Counsel Zulkefli Sulaiman, who represented the Speaker, said the government was not seeking costs in the matter.
The court ultimately ordered Bersatu to pay RM10,000 in costs to the five MPs.
The Members of Parliament named as defendants in the case were Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid of Kuala Kangsar, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim of Gua Musang, Zahari Kechik of Jeli, Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal of Bukit Gantang, and Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi of Tanjong Karang.
The suit was filed in 2024 by Bersatu executive secretary Datuk Captain (R) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya and the party’s vice-president and chief whip Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.
In their legal action, the plaintiffs sought a declaration that Johari, through a letter dated July 9, 2024, had acted in violation of Article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution by wrongly deciding that no casual vacancies had occurred in the five parliamentary seats.
They also sought a declaration compelling the Speaker to comply with the constitutional provision by confirming that casual vacancies had arisen and to notify the Election Commission within 21 days of a court order. - March 5, 2026
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