GE15: Politicians charged in court shouldn’t contest, it creates difficulties to the public

KUALA LUMPUR: A politician who has been charged in court for any offence should not contest the election, says lawyer Datuk Salehuddin Saidin.

He said although there was no provision in the Constitution that prevented them from doing so, it would bring difficulties to various parties, especially the people.

According to Article 8 Phase 1, read together with Phase 5 (in the Federal Constitution), a person charged in court is still qualified to be a candidate, unless he is later convicted and sentenced to not less than one year in prison or a fine of not less than RM2,000, at which point he will be disqualified.

"What I have observed is that if a person has been accused in court, the risk of him being convicted is quite high, even though it is true that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

"Let's say he is destined to win, become a Member of Parliament or a Minister, then the trial continues, then his focus in the court surpasses his time for the people," he said when interviewed on the Agenda Awani programme yesterday.

Salehuddin said that if the representative of the people involved was convicted and sentenced to more than a year, the law stated that he was still eligible until he used two opportunities to appeal.

If the two-time appeal process was completed and the conviction was upheld and the appeal for pardon was also rejected, then he would be disqualified, he added.

If the process took two years for example, until he was confirmed to be disqualified, his vacant seat needed to be filled, then an election needs to be held.

“So imagine, first, the costs that need to be spent to conduct elections.

"Secondly, the representative who was elected by the people who expected him to serve the community and bring all their problems to Parliament, will not achieve this due to his short term and lack of focus.

"When his successor has been selected, his term to serve may only be one or two years, so the continuity is quite loose.

"In the end, who is the victim? People," said Salehuddin.

Therefore, he felt it was time for the Members of Parliament elected in the 15th General Election (GE) to amend the law so that those who had been accused in court could no longer contest. - Astro Awani