A LEGAL application by a Port Dickson voter to challenge the vacation of the parliamentary seat will not affect the by-election process, said PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim.

“The (Dewan Rakyat) speaker has made his decision with a letter (that the seat is vacant),” PKR’s by-election candidate Anwar said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.  

“I don’t think this will jeapordise the process. This is just efforts by certain parties to thwart Anwar. This is an old process, (going on for) 20 years, to stop Anwar.

“God-willing, I believe the voters will make a wise decision,” said the former Permatang Pauh MP.

Rosmadi Mohd Kassim filed a judicial review at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Wednesday to challenge incumbent MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah’s decision to vacate the seat earlier this month.

Danyal’s move was to pave the way for Anwar to contest in the parliamentary constituency.

Rosmadi was seeking a declaration that the Election Commission’s decision to declare the seat vacant was unlawful, and sought an injunction to stop the commission from holding the by-election next month.

He asked for leave to declare Danyal’s resignation as MP invalid and for a certiorari (process for seeking judicial review) to nullify the EC’s September 20 notice to conduct the by-election on October 13.

The court will hear the application on Tuesday.

Nomination for the Port Dickson by-election is tomorrow. The contest will most likely see a multi-cornered fight, with Anwar of ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan facing challenges from former Negri Sembilan MB Isa Samad, an air force veteran from PAS Mohd Nazari Mokhtar, a Parti Rakyat Malaysia candidate and independent Stevie Chan Keng Leng.

PKR has held the seat since 2008, when it was still known as Teluk Kemang. The seat was renamed Port Dickson after a redelineation exercise before the last general election.

In the 14th general election in May, Danyal won the seat with 36,225 votes, beating BN’s MIC candidate V. Mogan, who got 18,515 votes, and PAS’ Mahfuz Roslan, who received 6,594 votes. – September 28, 2018.