Judicial commissioner Latifah Mohd Tahar ruled that there were issues that needed to be ventilated in a full hearing.

“The defendant (Zuraida) needs to explain why she signed the bond in the first place.

“Witnesses need to testify on whether the said bond had been executed,” she said in her decision.

Lawyer Chiew Choon Man, appearing for PKR, said the decision was conveyed to them through the court’s e-review system. Zuraida was represented by Nurul Najwa Zainuddin.

PKR, through its secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, had filed a suit against Zuraida for allegedly breaching the agreement.

The party said it was invoking Section 71 of the Contracts Act to establish its rights to recover compensation from the benefits Zuraida enjoyed as Ampang MP as well as a minister.

She is currently the plantation industries and commodities minister under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration.

Zuraida was one of 11 PKR MPs who left Pakatan Harapan in February last year and were subsequently sacked by the party.

In her statement of defence, Zuraida had claimed that the bond was “unconstitutional”, adding that PKR cannot execute the terms under the agreement as it breaches one’s right to freedom of association under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.

She admitted signing the bond agreement before May 9, 2018 but said it was not a compulsory requirement under election laws.