SHAH ALAM: Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim has filed an application to set aside the High Court's decision on Feb 18 that the Port Klang seat is not vacant and that Badrul Hisham Abdullah remains its assemblyman.
The application was filed through Messrs Tommy Thomas at the High Court registry here on Thursday.
In the affidavit supporting his application, Teng, 48, said he had suffered grave injustice as a result of a default judgment being entered without submissions made on his behalf by his counsel.
He claimed that the manner in which the hearing was conducted, essentially on an ex-parte basis, was wholly unfair.
On Feb 18, Judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof ruled that the Port Klang seat was not vacant and that Badrul Hisham Abdullah remained its assemblyman.
On Jan 16, Teng had declared the seat vacant saying that the assemblyman had not attended assembly meetings for six months without reasonable cause. Judge Zaleha made the ruling in her chambers after hearing an originating summons filed by Badrul Hisham against Teng after Tend declared the seat vacant.
Zaleha also ordered Teng to pay costs of RM40,000.
Badrul Hisham had filed the originating summons on Jan 24 to seek a declaration that he is still the state assemblyman for Port Klang and had the right to attend Selangor state assembly sittings.
He also sought a declaration that the Port Klang seat was not vacant.
On Feb 11, Teng filed an application to strike out Badrul Hisham's originating summons, saying that he was protected by the immunity conferred by Article 72 of the Federal Constitution from any legal action by Badrul Hisham. - Bernama