Court rejects request for review of registration of voters in alleged uncomplete army base

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court dismissed an application for leave for judicial review to stop the registration of 949 voters using the allegedly uncompleted Segamat army camp's address.
Lawyer Michelle Ng who represented 48 Segamat voters said the leave was dismissed as the Election Commission (EC) had already gazetted their registration.
"The court today dismissed the application for leave with no order as to cost. It agreed with the Attorney General's Chambers that Section 9A the ouster clause in the Elections Act applies, and that given that the names had been gazetted, the matter is now non-justiciable," she told reporters outside the courtroom after High Court judge Datuk Kamaludin Md Said delivered the decision in chambers.
She added that she will seek her clients' advice on proceeding with an appeal.
Section 9A of the Elections Act prohibits a judicial review of the gazetted electoral roll.
Senior federal counsel Muzila Mohamed Arsad represented the EC.
The EC had intended to gazette the names on the electoral roll in the third quarter of last year.
Last December, the 48 Segamat voters, led by Abdul Wahab Hassan, filed an application to remove the names of the 949 army personnel and their spouses as new voters at the camp, which will only be completed next month.
They sought a court order that the exercise to include the 949 voters is unconstitutional, as the army personnel and their spouses do not reside in the constituency.
In an affidavit in support of their application, the voters said many irregularities were discovered during a public inquiry conducted by the EC from Dec 4 to 10 last year.