Election judge Azman Abdullah dismissed the petition to nullify the Sungai Udang results after hearing the testimonies of 20 witnesses during the trial from March 24 to April 20.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who represented incumbent assemblyman Dr Aleef Yusof, said the court ruled that the allegations of voting irregularities were untrue.

“The allegations of bribery against Aleef are also untrue, with the court finding all the complaints to be baseless,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Ali, who was represented by Rosfinah Rahmat, Wan Hamidah Wan Ismail and Nor Hazira Abu Haiyan, was not present at today’s proceedings. He filed the petition on Dec 14 after the election results were gazetted.

On Dec 30, Azman dismissed all preliminary objections raised by Bersatu’s Aleef and the Election Commission, paving the way to hear the claims made by Ali, who lost by a 530-vote majority in a four-cornered fight.

In his petition, Ali said deputy defence minister Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, who is the Tanah Merah MP from Perikatan Nasional, had assisted Aleef to win the seat, which has a substantial number of army voters.