PUTRAJAYA, Dec 8 — Court of Appeal President Datuk Abu Bakar Jais recused himself from hearing Bersatu's bid to appeal Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul’s refusal to declare as vacant four Sabah parliamentary seats 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 two other judges on the bench were the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi and Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan. The court has scheduled tomorrow for case management to set a new hearing date.
Also present at the proceedings 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. He then invited counsel to express their views on the matter.
Counsel Datuk 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 the media after the proceedings, Azhar said that he had known Justice Abu Bakar since 1982, when they were fellow students.
On April 17, 2023, Bersatu's vice presidents Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee and Datuk Capt (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 January 16, 2023, stating that the four MPs had given an explanation and confirmed there was no vacancy in their seats, based on the interpretation of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Bersatu constitutions.
The party also sought a declaration that the four MPs had ceased to be MPs pursuant to Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, and a further order compelling Johari to confirm the occurrence of an unforeseen vacancy for all the parliamentary seats concerned.
On November 16, 2023, the High Court dismissed Bersatu’s application for leave to commence judicial review. The Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed their appeal on August 4 this year.
