Reserved judgement on Tan Cheng Bock's legal challenge on Elected Presidency

Judgement has been reserved in the constitutional challenge to the timing of the reserved Presidential Election (PE) by Tan Cheng Bock.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday (29 June) after a hearing on the case, Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar said that Justice Quentin Loh’s decision was expected in about a week.

Both Kumar and Chelva Retnam Rajah, who is representing Tan, declined to comment on the arguments that were presented before the court.

The hearing at the High Court took place in chambers, which means that members of the public were not allowed to attend. Tan was not present in court.

In May, Tan filed an affidavit to the High Court to challenge the counting of five terms of the EP to trigger this year’s reserved election. The upcoming presidential election is reserved for Malay candidates and will be held in September.

The 76-year-old former Ayer Rajah MP, who held a media conference in March about the issue, questioned the advice given by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to the government that the first term of the EP began with President Wee Kim Wee.

Tan said that the election should be an open one. “The AGC should have counted the five most recent presidential terms produced by open elections. This starts with President Ong Teng Cheong,” he said.

Calling it “a matter of national importance”, Tan said last month that he had engaged Queen’s Counsel Lord David Pannick, a high-profile barrister from the United Kingdom, to represent him.