Jan 10 date for Azmin’s appeal on suit by Gombak voters
PUTRAJAYA: Gombak MP Azmin Ali’s appeal to strike out a lawsuit filed by 10 voters from his constituency for alleged deceit and breach of fiduciary duty as their elected representative is fixed for case management on Monday. This was confirmed by both lawyers, Nizamuddin Hamid representing Azmin and N Yohendra…
PUTRAJAYA: Gombak MP Azmin Ali’s appeal to strike out a lawsuit filed by 10 voters from his constituency for alleged deceit and breach of fiduciary duty as their elected representative is fixed for case management on Monday.
This was confirmed by both lawyers, Nizamuddin Hamid representing Azmin and N Yohendra representing the voters, when contacted by Bernama after the case was heard virtually before a three-member panel, presided by Yaacob Md Sam, at the Court of Appeal. Judges S Nantha Balan and Nordin Hassan were the other panel members.
The case management fixed on Jan 10 is to set the date to hear the appeal, according to the lawyers.
In today’s proceedings, the court allowed Azmin’s application to regularise the record of appeal due to an inadvertent error concerning the applicability of a “Chief Justice’s Direction”.
A practice direction is a supplemental protocol to rules of civil and criminal procedure in court and how it should function.
This was after lawyer Daniel Choo Vern Kai, who is also representing the voters, did not object to the application. Lawyer Nurul Najwa Zainuddin appeared for Azmin.
On June 10, 2021, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Azmin’s application to strike out the suit filed against him by the 10 voters registered in the Gombak parliamentary constituency.
On the same day, High Court judge Akhtar Tahir also rejected the voters’ application to strike out several paragraphs of Azmin’s statement of defence.
On Nov 27, 2020, the voters filed a suit against Azmin for alleged deceit and breach of fiduciary duty as their MP through the “Sheraton Move” that caused the Pakatan Harapan government to collapse in February 2020.
In their statement of claim, the voters are seeking, among others, a declaration that Azmin, as the Gombak MP, had breached his fiduciary obligations, deceived them during the elections in the constituency and also breached the representation made to them.
They sought damages, including aggravated or exemplary damages, interests, costs and other orders deemed fit by the court.
On March 12 last year, Azmin filed an application to strike out the suit citing that it did not disclose a reasonable cause of action and was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process. — Free Malaysia Today