11 Feb 2020
The Speaker of Dewan Undangan Negeri of Sarawak Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar 1. Ting Tiong Choon 2. Dato' Sri Wong Soon Koh 3. Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak 4. Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya Malaysia
- Citation
- 01(f)-20-08/2019(Q) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)
- Court
- f
- Case number
- 01(f)-20-08/2019(Q) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)
The Dewan Undangan Negeri of Sarawak did not have jurisdiction under the Sarawak Constitution to disqualify the Respondent for voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship that occurred prior to election; pre-election disqualification is for determination by an election petition in the High Court under Article 118 of the Federal Constitution, whereas Article 19(1) and related provisions empower the Dewan to determine only post-election cessation of qualification. The Dewan’s refusal to grant reasonable time to the Respondent to prepare amounted to a breach of natural justice.