The hearing date for the appeals, which named the state legislative assembly and its speaker, Law Choo Kiang, as respondents, are expected to be fixed during a case management scheduled to be held next week.

Lawyer A Surendra Ananth, who represents the speaker, said the appeals court’s senior assistant registrar, Tiong Wen Wen, adjourned case management for Bersatu’s former assemblyman for Sungai Acheh, Zulkifli Ibrahim, held this morning.

Tiong did so after learning that Dr Afif Bahardin (former Seberang Jaya assemblyman), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang) have also filed appeals over the same High Court ruling.

The trio’s appeals are scheduled for case management on May 5.

“The next case management in Zulkifli’s appeal will be held on the same day, and a joint hearing for all four appeals will likely be fixed on that date,” Surendra told FMT.

Lawyer Shu Ivy appeared for Zulkifli today.

On Jan 20, judicial commissioner Azizan Arshad dismissed suits brought by the four former assemblymen.

Azizan said he was bound by last year’s Federal Court ruling that affirmed the constitutionality of the state’s anti-hopping provision contained in Article 14A of the state’s constitution.

He also ruled that he did not have the power to invalidate a motion by the state legislative assembly and the speaker against the four.

“That comes under the jurisdiction of the state legislature,” he said.

On March 6, the legislative assembly approved a motion to vacate the four seats on grounds that the assemblymen had violated the state’s anti-hopping law.

All had contested and won under the PKR banner in May 2018.

The four plaintiffs had filed three writs of summons in 2020 against the state legislative assembly and the speaker to challenge a motion introduced in October 2020 for them to vacate their seats and for by-elections to be held.