PUTRAJAYA: Court of Appeal president Justice Abu Bakar Jais recused himself from hearing Bersatu’s bid to appeal Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul’s refusal to declare four Sabah parliamentary seats vacant, won by the party’s former members in the last general election.
Justice Abu Bakar, who chaired a three-judge Federal Court panel, said he decided to recuse himself because he has known Bersatu’s counsel, Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, for over 30 years.
The other judges on the bench were the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Azizah Nawawi, and Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan.
The court has scheduled today for case management to set a new hearing date, Bernama reported.
Also present were senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi and federal counsel Imtiyaz Wizni Aufa Othman, representing Johari as the first respondent.
Earlier, Justice Abu Bakar informed the court that while his 30-year acquaintance with the lawyer did not constitute a public interest conflict, he had nevertheless decided to withdraw from the case and invited counsel to express their views.
Counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, representing all four respondents, informed the panel that his clients would have reservations if Justice Abu Bakar continued to hear the application.
Speaking to reporters after the proceedings, Azhar Azizan explained that he had known Justice Abu Bakar since 1982, when they were fellow students.
On April 17, 2023, Bersatu’s vice-presidents Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee and Datuk Kapt (R) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, who are also party officials, filed a judicial review application naming Johari and the four MPs in question: Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang).
Bersatu sought an order to quash Johari’s decision via a letter dated Jan 16, 2023, which stated the four MPs had provided an explanation confirming there was no vacancy of their seats, based on the interpretation of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Bersatu constitutions.
The party also sought a declaration that the four MPs had ceased to be Dewan Rakyat members pursuant to Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, and a further order compelling Johari to confirm the occurrence of an unforeseen vacancy for the parliamentary seats concerned.
On Nov 16, 2023, the High Court dismissed Bersatu’s application for leave to commence judicial review. The appeal was subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Aug 4 this year.
