The High Court is scheduled to rule on 28 October on an application by a voter that applies for a judicial review against the dissolution of the Parliament.
The judicial review was filed last week by Sai Iskandar, a voter from the pandan seat, against the dissolution of the Parliament, and has named Ismail Sabri, the Chairman of the Election Commission, and the Government.
Judicial review of the dissolution of Parliament should be dismissed
In his submissions, Senior Commonwealth Counsel Sansubhasan, representing the Attorney General's Department, argued that the application for judicial review should be dismissed because none of the respondents could have decided to dissolve Parliament.
The Attorney General, as the guardian of the public interest, has the right to support or oppose the hearing of a case. The dissolution of Parliament is an exercise of the Head of State's discretion to decide whether or not to dissolve Parliament, following a recommendation by the Prime Minister. The Head of State makes the final decision. He also added that the matter was not jurisdictional and, therefore, the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
He also said that the voter had not shown how his legal rights had been adversely affected and that he had every right to vote in the election. He argued that the voter was seeking an injunction to prevent the government or government officials from carrying out their duties, which is prohibited by law.
The date of the general election has been announced. The national election will fall on 19 November, with nomination day on 5 November.
