The Malaysian Insight

FORMER Umno minister Anifah Aman will return to Kimanis to confer with supporters on the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the decision to call for fresh polls in the Sabah parliamentary seat.

“Though I have won on the allegations against me and was awarded costs of RM105,000, I have to file today’s appeal to defend the decision of the voters in Kimanis,” he said in a statement today.

“I will go back to Kimanis and discuss with my supporters on my next course of action.” 

Anifah’s win in last year’s general election was contested by Parti Warisan Sabah’s candidate Karim Bujang, who alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the election.

In August this year, the election court had declared Anifah’s win null and void but dismissed the allegations of bribery and corruption.

The Federal Court’s five-member bench today, led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, held that the election court judge had not erred in the decision.

“I am saddened by the decision of the Federal Court… even though I am not surprised,” Anifah said in his statement today.

“I was in court this morning and was shocked to see that three members of the panel that had previously allowed Karim Bujang’s appeal on November 18, 2018 are also adjudicating my appeal.”

Anifah said he had applied for the three judges to recuse themselves as they have sat in the previous appeal and are “therefore not neutral.”

Anifah, formerly Barisan Nasional’s foreign minister, was a three-term MP for Kimanis. He is the brother of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman

Last year, he won the seat with a slim margin of 156 votes over Karim.

Election court judge Lee Heng Cheong in August said the ballot boxes had shown signs of manipulation, that additional voting papers were detected and the returning officer at certain polling stations had failed to provide Form 13 that was used to verify the number of ballots counted.

Anifah quit Umno in September last year. – December 2, 2019.