Justice Noor Hayati Mat said the court could not adjudicate on the matter due to a prohibition imposed by Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966.

“The provision states any decision made by a political party cannot be reviewed by the court,” she said in her decision delivered in proceedings held online this afternoon.

Hayati also ordered Suhaili to pay costs of RM5,000 to Bersatu.

Lawyers Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, Choo Shi Jin and Woo J Enn represented Suhaili while counsel Chetan Jethwani and Tang Jia Yearn acted for Bersatu.

Suhaili, who filed the lawsuit on July 1 last year, said that on Nov 2, 2023, the Bersatu disciplinary board issued a letter informing him that he was being charged for allegedly violating Article 22.1(f) of the party’s constitution.

He said the charge was in respect of a press statement he had made supporting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Suhaili said that on Nov 3, 2023, he wrote to the board explaining that the press statement was made due to the party’s failure to provide funds to help the people of Labuan.

He claimed that despite providing a reasonable explanation, the board illegally and irrationally decided to suspend his membership for six years on Nov 7, 2023.

Suhaili subsequently commenced the suit in the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Dec 19, 2023, but the case was dismissed after the court ruled it had to be filed in the peninsula.

On May 17, Suhaili claimed to have received a letter from Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin informing him that he was automatically expelled for filing a lawsuit against the party based on Article 10.2.6 of its constitution.