The High Court has dismissed former Selangau MP Baru Bian’s application to strike out a lawsuit filed by PKR against him for allegedly breaching a RM10 million bond.
Baru, 68, is one of six former PKR MPs sued by the party over alleged breaches of bonds signed before the 14th general election in 2018.
Justice Roslan Mat Nor dismissed the application after considering submissions from both parties.
“The court dismissed the first defendant’s (Baru) application with costs of RM4,000,” he said.
Baru challenges court’s jurisdiction
In his application, Baru argued that the High Court of Malaya had no jurisdiction to hear the case because the cause of action arose in Sarawak.
He said he signed the bond in Kuching on April 25, 2018, three days before filing his nomination papers to contest the Selangau parliamentary seat.
The former works minister and Sarawak PKR chief also argued that his involvement with PKR was confined to Sarawak, where the party’s headquarters was located in Kuching.
However, PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh said the cause of action originated in Malaya because the party’s headquarters is in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
PKR’s suits over Sheraton Move
In March, PKR, through Fuziah, filed lawsuits against Baru and five other former MPs: Kamarudin Jaffar, who represented Bandar Tun Razak; Mansor Othman of Nibong Tebal; Rashid Hasnon of Batu Pahat; Saifuddin Abdullah of Indera Mahkota; and Edmund Santhara Kumar of Segamat.
The suits concerned their alleged roles in the collapse of the 22-month Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government in 2020 following the Sheraton Move.
PKR also filed a similar lawsuit against 10 assemblymen who left the party in 2020.
Counsel Navpreet Singh represented PKR, while Aimee Liew represented Baru.
