PUTRAJAYA (Sept 6): A three-member Court of Appeal (COA) bench has dismissed an appeal by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin to strike out a RM10 million suit by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) against her for leaving the party in 2020 in breach of a bond agreement.
Judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, who led the bench, declared that the High Court judicial commissioner had not erred in her decision, and that the appellate court decision was unanimous.
"The court finds that this is not a suitable case for this court to strike out the suit. The legality and validity of the contract needs a mature deliberation via viva voce (oral evidence). Hence this appeal is dismissed," he said in a hearing conducted online.
Sitting with Vazeer were judges Datuk M Gunalan and Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya.
The court also ordered Zuraida, who is now with Parti Bangsa Malaysia, to pay costs of RM10,000.
Earlier, Zuraida, represented by counsel Muhammad Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid, attempted to argue that her case was dissimilar to one where the Federal Court had ruled that a provision under an enactment in Penang's anti-party-hopping law was valid and constitutional.
However, the judges interjected that it was too early for the court to decide on striking out the matter as there are various issues at hand.
PKR, through its secretary general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, had filed the suit in October 2020, after Zuraida and nine other PKR MPs defected from the party, triggering the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government.
Saifuddin, represented by Ranjit Singh and William Leong, argued that this was not a proper case to allow a striking out as there are many issues to be decided by the court.
"This case is different from the Nordin Salleh matter as this involves a private contractual position as Zuraida signed the bond on her own free will when she was a PKR vice president," he added.
Last November, High Court JC Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar disallowed the striking out application and ordered the case to go for a full trial, as she ruled there are triable issues to be decided.