KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): A warrant of arrest was issued by the Kuala Terengganu High Court for for state exco Mohd Nor Hamzah, for his failure to be present in court to take the stand in the Marang election petition hearing on Thursday (March 16). 

According to lawyer Amin Othman, Nor Hamzah was ordered on Tuesday (March 14) by justice Datuk Hassan Abdul Ghani to appear in court on March 16 to continue his testimony in the case. 

While Nor Hamzah had appeared on Tuesday to take the stand, according to Amin Othman, Nor Hamzah was to continue his cross examination on Thursday. 

Amin Othman said that the warrant of arrest was issued by the court because the state exco did not turn up at the stipulated time as set by the court. 

“His (Nor Hamzah’s) officer informed us that he would only be available in the afternoon,” the lawyer told The Edge. 

Because Nor Hamzah did not turn up, Amin Othman had requested that the court issue a warrant of arrest against him. 

The trial will resume on March 19. 

On Jan 3, Terengganu Umno filed a petition to annul the the 15th general elections (GE15) results for the Marang parliamentary seat at the Kuala Terengganu High Court, in accordance with the Election Offenses Act 1954.

Terengganu Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said said among points raised in the petition were allegations that PAS had bribed voters by distributing financial aid from the state government through the i-Pension, i-Belia and i-Student initiatives between Nov 15 and 17, 2022, which was just a few days before GE15.

In GE15, Abdul Hadi retained the Marang seat with a majority of 41,729 votes, defeating three other candidates, namely Jasmira, Azhar Ab Shukur (Pakatan Harapan) and Dr Zarawi Sulong (Pejuang).