KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP senior leader has claimed that caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob did not have the majority support of Parliament and the cabinet when he sought an audience with the King on Sunday.
Charles Santiago, who had filed an injunction to defer the 15th General Election (GE15) in court yesterday (Tuesday), believed that due to the lack of support for Ismail Sabri, his advice to the King should be declared "void".
"Umno's support for the dissolution of Parliament can only account for about 17 per cent of the MPs.
"Other political parties publicly disagreed with the dissolution including Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
"Assuming that all the PH and PN MPs oppose the dissolution, this would amount to 135 lawmakers: a clear majority," he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page today.
Santiago said out of the 80 ministers and deputy ministers in cabinet, only 29 were from Barisan Nasional (BN), and said even a BN minister Khairy Jamaluddin had publicly disagreed with GE15 being held this year.
Caretaker Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, he added, had also stated that the cabinet was not informed about the dissolution.
"I firmly believe that Ismail Sabri's advice to the YDPA is void. As a consequence, I also believe that the dissolution of Parliament is of no legal effect.
"As such, I am taking Ismail Sabri and the other defendants to court for the primary reason that the decision to hold GE15 during the monsoon season can cause loss of lives and livelihoods.
"Furthermore, repeated letters to the Election Commission were not acknowledged and were unanswered, leaving me with no choice but to seek answers through legal channels.
"I want to categorically state that I am not challenging the powers of the King but only the advice given to him by Ismail Sabri."
In court documents sighted by the NST, the DAP leader, in the injunction filed, named Ismail Sabri, the government and the Election Commission (EC) as defendants.
Santiago is seeking several declarations from the court, including that the request by Ismail Sabri to the king for Parliament to be dissolved was a contravention of Article 40(1) and (1A) of the Constitution.
In the originating summons, Santiago said the request for dissolution was not made on the advice of the cabinet, and therefore was null and void.
He also said the dissolution of Parliament, made on Oct 10, was not in accordance with Article 55(2), read with Article 40(1) and (1A), and had no legal effect.
He is also seeking for the court to issue an order to restrain the EC, its agents, servants and employees from taking steps to conduct GE15.
In the supporting affidavit, he said it was clear from Ismail Sabri's speech on Monday that the dissolution of Parliament was a personal request.
"Based on his statement, he did so without the support of the cabinet.
"The first defendant made the request so close to the flooding season and had no regard on the clear effect this flood will have on voters to exercise their rights.
"It is more likely than not that voters, including voters in my constituency, will be forced to risk their lives to exercise their right to vote."
The hearing has been fixed before High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid on Oct 20 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.