DEPUTY Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Marzuki Yahya has failed in his petition to challenge the results of the 14th general election for the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat, where he suffered a razor-thin loss.

The seat was retained by its incumbent, Shabudin Yahaya, of Umno by only 81 votes, which was 0.001% of the total 51,904 votes.

Penang high court justice Hashim Hamzah, who sat as the Election Court judge, ruled that Marzuki’s petition was “seriously flawed” as it had not followed election rules.

“The petition is seriously flawed and therefore cancelled with costs,” he said, ordering Marzuki to pay RM10,000 to Shabudin, who was named the first respondent.

Marzuki, who is also Bersatu supreme council member and Penang party chief, had filed the petition after the May 9 elections, claiming that the tallied votes were suspicious.

He had said there were a high number of spoilt and unreturned ballots – 689 and 297 respectively – while the majority won by Shabudin was only 81.

Marzuki said the EC denied him a recount when he requested it the night the votes were counted.

Outside the courtroom, Shabudin’s lawyer Simon Tan said election rules did not allow recounts at centres where votes were tallied.

“If you don’t know what you are petitioning against, how do the respondents prepare their defence?

“It was a fatal mistake on their part that got the case thrown out,” Tan told reporters.

Shabudin said he was thankful for the ruling, which will allow him to continue to serve the constituents of Tasek Gelugor.

“This makes me more resolute in serving the people in Tasek Gelugor and delivering what Barisan Nasional had promised them before,” he said.

Also present at court today were Penang Umno leaders, including state chairman Musa Sheikh Fadzir, secretary Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah, state opposition leader Mohamad Yusoff Mohd Noor, and Permatang Berangan assemblyman Nor Hafizah Othman.

Marzuki’s lawyers Azlina Mehtab Mohd Ishaq and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali appealed for the RM10,000 petition deposit to be used to pay the cost fixed by the court.

They said they will speak to Marzuki for further instruction on whether to appeal the decision.

“We petitioned against the result because Marzuki was defeated by a mere 81 votes. Today, the court cancelled the petition based on preliminary objections, without a hearing.

“We will take further instruction from our client. We have 14 days to decide whether to appeal at federal court,” Rafique said.

“Marzuki had said before the petition was not about his loss in the polls but the right of voters. If we are told to file an appeal, we will be able to raise questions on the people’s right as voters.”

In the May 9 polls, Pakatan Harapan – of which Bersatu is a member – won 11 out of 13 parliamentary seats in Penang, failing only in Umno strongholds Kepala Batas and Tasek Gelugor. – September 18, 2018.