The Election Court has struck out a petition seeking to nullify the result of the Karambunai state seat in the 17th Sabah general election.
PAS candidate Datuk Dr Aliakbar Gulasan remains the Karambunai assemblyman.
Kuching-based High Court judge Wong Siong Tung, sitting as the election court judge, delivered the decision via Zoom after allowing all preliminary objections raised by the respondents, including Aliakbar.
“The court finds that the petition is fundamentally defective and cannot proceed. Accordingly, the petition is struck out.
“The petitioner is ordered to pay costs in the sum of RM15,000 to the first and second respondents, and a further RM15,000 to the third respondent (Aliakbar),” said lawyer Rizwandean Bukhary M Burhan, who represented Aliakbar together with Shahlan Jufri.
The petition was filed on Dec 29, 2025 by Warisan candidate Ahmad Jais Otong, who named the returning officer (RO) for the Karambunai constituency, the Election Commission (EC), and Aliakbar as the first, second, and third respondents, respectively.
The respondents raised preliminary objections to strike out the petition, including on the grounds that it failed to demonstrate how any non-compliance with election rules and regulations affected the outcome.
The 11-cornered contest saw Aliakbar, contesting under the Perikatan Nasional ticket, secure 7,054 votes to win with a slim majority of 365 votes, defeating Ahmad (6,689), as well as candidates from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (4,818) and Barisan Nasional (4,475).
The RO and EC were represented by Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, along with Federal Counsels Safiyyah Omar, Nur Akmal Mohamad Azri and Nurul Muhaimin Mohd Azman.
The petitioner was represented by lawyers Chin Yean Yean and Cason Chin. – NST
