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Legal setback could cost Malaysian MP his seat

KUALA LUMPUR — Senior Malaysian opposition figure Rafizi Ramli lost his appeal bid against an 18-month jail sentence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) in the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, casting a shadow on his eligibility to contest in the next general election.

Rafizi Ramli could be ineligible to contest in the next general election after losing his appeal against an 18-month jail sentence. TODAY file photo

Rafizi Ramli could be ineligible to contest in the next general election after losing his appeal against an 18-month jail sentence. TODAY file photo

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KUALA LUMPUR — Senior Malaysian opposition figure Rafizi Ramli lost his appeal bid against an 18-month jail sentence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) in the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, casting a shadow on his eligibility to contest in the next general election.

This could be yet another blow for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition pact, which has appeared to be in disarray in the lead-up to the polls, which have to be called by August next year.

High Court judge Azman Abdullah yesterday set aside Rafizi’s conviction for possessing part of a classified document related to state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

But he upheld Rafizi’s second conviction for disclosing the contents of the document to the public at a media conference in March last year.

Last year, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court sentenced Rafizi to 18 months’ jail for breaching the OSA after finding him guilty of two charges of unauthorised possession and disclosing the content of the 1MDB document in Parliament.

Yesterday’s decision means the Member of Parliament (MP) from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) faces the risk of losing his Pandan parliamentary seat and of being ineligible to contest in the next general election.

Under Article 48 of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution, lawmakers are disqualified from holding elected office if they are sentenced to more than a year in prison or fined more than RM2,000 (S$637).

However, the disqualification would not come into effect unless the entire appeal process is exhausted.

An appeal at the Appellate Court will be Rafizi’s last bid to overturn his conviction.

The High Court yesterday granted a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal, with Rafizi’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo saying requests would be made for an expedited hearing.

Rafizi said he remained optimistic that the conviction would be overturned.

“As things stand, I can’t contest, but we are (hopeful),” he said.

Mr Gobind said for now, Rafizi remains an MP.

“The law states that one needs to go through the entire appeal process before any change is made to the status of an MP,” he said.

Rafizi’s sentence is a blow to the fractured opposition. The Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact was dissolved in 2015 after a public spat between Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and its then-ally, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), over PAS’ insistence to implement the Islamic penal code in Kelantan.

A new opposition pact, Pakatan Harapan, was formed comprising DAP, PKR, PAS splinter group Amanah and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The alliance, however, was besetted with open bickering and clashes especially during last year’s Sarawak state elections and two by-elections a few months later. AGENCIES

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