Justice Wan Adnan to decide on May 15 if Kumar's election petition can go ahead

Rare court appearance: Samy Vellu leaves court this afternoon (Apr 11) after the day's hearing

Physician with a mission: Kumar with his counsel, Dominic Puthucheary, mobbed by supporters outside court today (Apr 11)

by our Special Correspondent

TAIPING, Apr 11 (Aliran) -- About 250 people packed a courtroom here to hear lawyers representing Works Minister Samy Vellu and Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj present arguments as to whether the Election Court can proceed to hear the latter's election petition alleging electoral fraud at Sungai Siput during last November's general election.

The crowd, comprising about 150 of Kumar's supporters and another 100 linked to Samy Vellu, trooped into a courtroom on the first floor of the building just before 9.am. But a false alarm saw many of them, mostly Kumar's supporters, racing downstairs to another courtroom thinking the hearing was to be conducted there. By the time they dashed upstairs again to the original courtroom, most of the seats had been filled by Samy Vellu's supporters and there was only standing room in the stuffy airconditioned courtroom next to the scenic hills of Taiping. The session finally started at 10.10 a.m.

Most of Kumar's supporters, the majority of them women, had arrived from around the Ipoh area. An air of expectancy filled the courtroom as they wondered if Samy Vellu would succeed in his attempt to strike off Kumar's election petition.

In last November's election, the powerful Works Minister had defeated Kumar, a Socialist Party (pending registration) candidate standing under a DAP ticket, by a majority of 5,259 votes, with 31,095 votes cast. In his election petition, Kumar alleged that phantom voters had been brought in to vote in the constituency. He filed the petition seeking a declaration that Samy Vellu was not duly elected as member of parliament. Alternatively, he is seeking a declaration that the Sungai Siput election was null and void or unconstitutional and invalid.

Down but not out: Poongavanam reads out for others the background to Kumar's petition during the lunchbreak

Samy Velly, represented by former Bar Council chairman Cyrus Das and two others, then filed a motion to strike out Kumar's petition. Much of the argument today focussed on whether the rules of the High Court are applicable to an Election Court's proceedings.

"It is my contention, My Lord, that the rules of the High Court, particularly Order 18, Rule 19, has no application whatsoever in an election petition," said Dominic Puthucheary, Kumar's counsel, who was assisted by solicitor-on-record G Balasundram.

"An Election Court is a specialist court within the High Court's jurisdiction," countered Das. Both counsel cited numerous precedents and made frequent rebuttals to back their arguments.

Most of Kumar's supporters, many of whom did not understand English, stayed back till the end of the day's proceedings. Among them was Poongavanam, who had come from Kelabang Estate, Chemor, to attend the hearing. During the lunch break, she read out from a sheet in Tamil to explain to a small group of other urban settlers (squatters) and plantation workers the events leading up to the court proceedings today.

Poongavanam, like many others in the group of 150 who came to court, is no stranger to poverty and hardship. In 1989, the 55-year-old rubber estate worker, a mother of five children, was given notice to vacate her house in the estate. But without anywhere else to go, Poongavanshe and 16 other families stood their ground.

A year later her water and electricity supply was cut. In 1996, her water supply was reconnected but until today, she still has no electricity. "For five years, we had to live using well-water," she says, with a look of pain etched on her face. "Now they are bringing in the bulldozers."

"We'll be back!": Though they sacrificed a day's wages to attend court, Kumar's supporters were in high spirits

Justice Wan Adnan will decide on May 15 whether to allow Puthucheary's preliminary objection to Samy Vellu's motion to strike out the physician's petition. If Puthucheary's objection is allowed, the court will move on to hear Kumar's election petition. If Puthucheary's objection is rejected, then the court will deliberate on Samy Vellu's motion to strike off Kumar's petition.

For Kumar's supporters, just seeing Samy Vellu, dressed immaculately in a dark suit, and his phalanx of lawyers appear in court made their trip worthwhile. Judging by their high spirits, the people will undoubtedly be in court again to see the case to its conclusion.