Hearing of the ex-party leave application filed through counsel Marcel Jude Joseph has been set for May 2.
The secretary of Umno Zone 6, Datuk Mohd Ainal Haji Abdul Fattah, who is also a committee member of Umno Semporna, in filing the leave application on Tuesday via counsel Marcel Jude Joseph, named the Election Commission as the first respondent and Shafie as the second.
Among others, Mohd Ainal, himself a lawyer, is seeking for a mandamus order from the High Court to command the Election Commission to basically reject should Shafie be nominated for any seat in the 14th General Election.
He was also seeking a mandatory injunction against Shafie's nomination in the general election pending restitution of the missing RM7.5 billion during Shafie's tenure as Minister of Rural and Regional Development, which is still under investigation by the MACC.
According to him, should Shafie be allowed to stand in the coming election it would be a breach of Section 10 of the Election Offences Act of 1954 which states:
(a) every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives, lends, or agrees to give or lend, or offer, promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for any elector or voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any elector or voter or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector or voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid on account from voting at any election :
(b) every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives or procures, or agrees to give or procure, or offer, promises or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any office, place of employment to or for any elector or voter, or to or for any other person , in order to induce such elector or voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid on account of any elector or voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election.
Mohd Ainal, in his statement claimed that on Oct 19, 2017, it was reported in the Star "MACC Arrests Shafie Apdal" that the Parti Warisan Sabah President has been arrested over a probe into the alleged skimming of RM1.5bil meant for rural development projects.
He said according to the Star report, the second respondent was detained at 9pm on Oct. 19, 2017 by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after four hours of questioning, arrested in MACC's probe into the projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
The projects were implemented between 2009 and 2015 when Shafie headed the ministry.
He claimed that on Oct. 29, 2017 it was further reported in "MACC Sifting Through Flow Of RM48mil Cash" that the MACC is zeroing in on how RM48m of Government funds meant to uplift the rural poor was moved across an intricate web of companies.
The graft busters are said to be probing 14 Sabah-based companies, said to be involved in the "disappearance" of the money over seven years, which is part of the RM1.5bil misappropriation of funds that MACC is looking into.
Mohd Ainal also claimed that earlier, on Oct. 6, 2017, it was reported in the Malay Mail Online in "Firms Suspected Of Swindling RM180m Meant For Rural Sabah" that almost RM180m was embezzled from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's funds for the underprivileged.
The source said MACC probe found that the embezzlement went back to at least 2013.
Graft busters had initially seized RM150m in cash. Another RM29m in a bank account was frozen.
The funds were to finance projects for the underprivileged, mainly in Sabah. Among them:
@ Upgrading of water and electricity supply. @ Repair of roads where the hardcore poor live. @ Food programmes for poor students. In total the projects were valued at RM500m.
The source said the money seized was in three separate bank accounts belonging to privately registered companies which were sub-contractors in the projects.
Mohd Ainal further claimed that it was also reported that "The RM1.5 billion was said to be part of RM7.5 billion project funds for Sabah."
According to the reports, the RM1.5b was intended to finance projects to improve basic amenities (such as upgrading of water and electricity supply, repair of roads, and food programmes) for the underprivileged in Sabah. It was reported that about 350 projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry are being investigated by MACC over allegations of embezzlement. MACC has frozen some RM170m in bank accounts and assets of companies involved in some 70 projects (out of the original list of 350 projects), he said.
Mohd Ainal claimed that from the foregoing newspaper reports, the second respondent is tentatively accused of massive fraud during his time with the Government of Malaysia and his tenure as a Federal Minister.
He had abused his position to privately amass a huge treasure chest of funds amounting to at least RM7,000,000.00, claimed Mohd Ainal.
The contractual obligations entered into by the Ministry when the second respondent was the Minister are invalid ab initio in that its conclusion amounts to conduct that does not comply when an organ of state contracts for goods or services for it must do so in accordance with a system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective, he claimed.
The financial loss of the Ministry and the missing funds have on the balance of probabilities been used by the second respondent in contravention and in breach of Section 10 of the Election Offences Act 1954, claimed Mohd Ainal.
In the premises, the second respondent is not a fit and proper person to be an elector or voter or be elected at any election including the 14th General Election, he said. - Joan Ann Mool (DE)
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