[UPDATED] Radzi Jidin still Putrajaya MP, election court rules

KUALA LUMPUR – The election court today ruled that Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Datuk Seri Radzi Jidin will stay on as Putrajaya MP.

In her ruling, Justice Datuk Faizah Jamaludin said the election petition filed by a voter had lacked evidence, especially on claims of alleged bribery to buy votes, reported Free Malaysia Today.

“The deficiency in facts and particulars on alleged bribery to voters will make it impossible to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt if trial was held. 

“I find the petition has not complied with Rule 4(1)(b) of the election petition rules and is therefore defective,” Bernama reported the judge as saying via online proceedings today.

Stressing that she was bound by powers expressly vested in her under the Election Offences Act 1954 as an election judge, Faizah said that the petitioner’s failure to comply with the pleadings and procedures has led to a “jurisdictional defect which deprived me of hearing the petition”.

In the 2022 general election, Radzi won Putrajaya with a 2,310-vote majority, beating five others, including Barisan Nasional’s four-term incumbent Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

It was reported that voter Datuk Ahmad Faisal Abdul Karim, 49, filed an election petition on January 26 to nullify the results for the Putrajaya parliamentary seat, alleging incidents of bribery.

He also claimed that Radzi knew or consented to the alleged offences conducted by his “agents” during the election period.

Faisal, who is also Putrajaya Umno division vice-chief, accused Radzi’s agents of bribing voters with RM150 each.

The Umno man added that a Putrajaya voter received the money in January from a PN party worker.

On February 12, Radzi filed a preliminary objection to the election petition. 

Aside from striking out the petition, the judge also ordered Faisal to pay RM20,000 in costs to Radzi. – The Vibes, March 10, 2023