INTERNATIONAL Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali has failed in his bid to strike out a suit against him by 10 Gombak parliamentary constituents.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today decided that the case will go to trial on June 7 next year, the plaintiffs’ lawyer N. Yohendra was reported saying by Malaysiakini.

Trial dates will be from June 7 to 10, 2022, with case management first on April 7.

Yohendra said that the judge in online proceedings today also did not allow an application by the 10 Gombak voters to strike out parts of Azmin’s statement of defence.

These parts involved Azmin’s accusations of sexual misconduct against PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as a reason for quitting the party last year.

The Gombak voters filed their suit last year alleging Azmin of betraying his fiduciary duties to constituents who voted for him in the 14th general election in 2018.

They allege that Azmin committed this betrayal with the ‘Sheraton Move’ in February last year in which he quit PKR and Pakatan Harapan to form a new government with Bersatu, Umno, PAS and Sarawak parties.

Now a senior minister in the Perikatan Nasional government and a Bersatu supreme council member, Azmin had tried to strike out their suit claiming a violation of his freedom of association under the federal constitution. – June 30, 2021.