Kota Kinabalu: The three respondents in the Sindumin election petition, filed by a voter seeking to annul the constituency’s election result, are set to challenge the petition with a preliminary objection.
During a case mention on Wednesday via Zoom, Kuching-based High Court Judge Dean Wayne Daly was informed that the Sindumin returning officer, Abdul Karim AM Zahari, the Election Commission (EC), and Parti Warisan’s winning candidate, Yusri Pungut, intend to raise the objection.
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The three parties are named as the first, second, and third respondents in the petition filed by Wendey Agong Baruh, 34, on December 26, 2025. Wendey is seeking a court declaration to void the Sindumin state election, which took place on November 29, 2025, and to declare that Yusri is not duly elected.
The petitioner is also seeking an order for court costs and any other relief deemed appropriate.
Wendey’s counsel, Ag Amli Noraufe Ag Nohin, informed the court that the Election Court had directed the respondents to file their respective preliminary objections by February 5.
Additionally, all parties involved were instructed to submit and serve their written submissions regarding the objections by February 12.
Judge Daly has set February 16 for the oral hearing of the preliminary objections via Zoom.
In the petition, Wendey alleges that on December 23, 2025, he received a video showing an Election Commission officer wearing a fluorescent vest labelled “Petugas” crumpling an orange ballot paper during vote counting and concealing it between a ballot box and a white container marked “Undi Belum dikira”.
The video, according to the petitioner, was obtained by a woman from a man who claimed the incident took place on November 29, 2025, after 6 pm at Saluran 3, SK Melalia.
The woman filed a police report on December 23, 2025, about the incident.
Wendey contended that the act, if proven true, would constitute an offence under Section 3(1)(c) of the Election Offences Act 1954 and argued that it compromised the integrity of the election result. He is seeking to have Yusri’s election declared void under Section 32(b) of the Act.
In the November 2025 Sabah state election, Yusri Pungut, a newcomer from Warisan, won the Sindumin seat with a majority of 362 votes, defeating Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Yamani Hafez Musa in a 10-cornered contest.
The remaining candidates were Abdillah Jalaf @ Dila (Independent) with 2,570 votes, Moktar Matussin (Star) with 1,469, Sani Miasin (KDM) with 875, Dayang Syafiqah (PN) with 705, Markus Buas (Parti Impian Sabah) with 293, Wilson Liou (Independent) with 54, Kanafia Bujang (Parti Kebangsaan Sabah) with 37, and Ibrahim Tuah (Independent) with 30.
Wendey was also represented by Norlaily Anuar, while Yusri, a lawyer by profession, represented himself in court.
