Tag: ADUN

Baru Bian seeks to quash PKR’s suit for breaching bond conditions

KUALA LUMPUR: Ba'kelalan state assemblyman (ADUN) Baru Bian has filed an application to strike out the suit filed against him by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which is seeking RM10 million in damages over alleged breach of bond conditions when he quit the party after winning the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018. The notice of application was filed through Messrs. YH Teh & Quek on April 6 on the grounds that the High Court of Malaya in Peninsular Malaysia did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the cause of action arose in Sarawak. The court set May 20 for case management before High Court Judge Roslan Mat Nor. In the application, Baru Bian, who is also the former Member of Parliament for Selangau, said he signed the bond in Kuching on April 25, 2018 and his involvement with PKR was only focused on Sarawak. "The plaintiff's (PKR) actions against me, even if proven true, do not arise in Peninsular Malaysia. The claim arises in Sarawak," he said in the application. Baru Bian is among 16 former MPs and assemblymen who were sued by PKR Secretary-General Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh on behalf of PKR for allegedly violating the terms of a RM10 million bond signed with the party. Also named as defendants are Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, Datuk Mansor Othman, Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah and Datuk Seri R. Santhara Kumar. Apart from that, Abdul Yunus Jamhari, Datuk Azman Nasrudin, Dr Afif Bahardin, Chong Fat Full, Daroyah Alwi, Haniza Mohamed Talha, Muhammad Hilman Idham, Muhammad Jailani Khamis, Robert Ling Kui Ee and Zulkifli Ibrahim were also named as defendants. In separate suits filed on Feb 19 and 27, PKR claimed that under the operative clause of the bond, each defendant agreed to pay the party RM10 million within seven days of the occurrence of any event including the defendant resigning from the party, joining another political party or becoming an independent elected representative. The plaintiff claimed to have nominated each defendant as a candidate to contest in the 14th GE and successfully won several Parliamentary and State Assembly seats, subsequently forming the Federal Government and several state governments. "However, on 24 Feb 2020, each of the defendants ceased to be party members after being elected under the party banner. They also expressed support for political coalitions other than PKR," PKR said in the statement of claim. PKR announced on March 11, 2020 that the party decided to terminate the membership of each defendant immediately and a certificate dated March 16, 2020 was issued to confirm that the membership of each defendant had been terminated and demanded that each defendant pay a bond of RM10 million, but they failed to do so.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ba’kelalan state assemblyman (ADUN) Baru Bian has filed an application to strike out the suit filed against him by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which is seeking RM10 million in damages over alleged breach of bond conditions when he quit the party after winning the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018. The notice of […]