THE Federal Court today allowed an appeal by the Sarawak legislative assembly to disqualify Ting Tiong Choon as Pujut assemblyman.

Following this decision, Ting is no longer the state rep for the seat.

He was disqualified as an assemblyman on May 12, 2017, following a motion tabled by then Sarawak Minister for International Trade and E-Commerce Wong Soon Koh for allegedly having both Australian and Malaysian citizenship.

Ting then filed an originating summons at the Kuching High Court on June 7, 2017, to challenge the assembly’s decision.

On June 17, 2017, the high court ruled that it was unlawful for the assembly to disqualify Ting as Pujut assemblyman.

On July 13, 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that the assembly had exceeded its power in denouncing Ting’s membership as an assemblyman on the basis of his dual citizenship, which he had given up before being nominated as a candidate for Pujut.

The Sarawak legislature, its speaker Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar and Wong appealed against the decisions of the high and appellate courts.

Last December, a nine-member Federal Court bench heard the appeal by the Sarawak assembly and two others over Ting’s disqualification due to his alleged dual citizenship.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the bench, deferred the court’s decision to today after hearing submissions from parties in the appeal.

The other judges on the bench were Court of Appeal President Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak David Wong Dak Wah and Federal Court judges Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Nallini Pathmanathan, Ong Lam Kiat, Abdul Rahman Sebli, Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Hasnah Mohammed Hashim. – February 11, 2020.