A three-member Court of Appeal panel, led by Justice Azizul Azmi Adnan, unanimously dismissed Suhaili’s appeal to set aside a High Court decision striking out his suit in favour of Bersatu, Bernama reported.

Azizul ordered Suhaili to pay RM30,000 in costs.

Sitting with him were Justices Ong Chee Kwan and Amarjeet Singh.

Suhaili had filed the suit against Bersatu in 2024, seeking an order that the cessation of his party membership was invalid.

He was among six MPs whose Bersatu memberships were terminated in 2023 after they declared support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Suhaili claimed that he did so because of his former party’s failure to provide funds to assist the people of Labuan.

The Shah Alam High Court struck out his suit on April 15 last year after ruling that Bersatu’s move to terminate Suhaili’s membership was related to the party’s affairs, and that Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966, which bars court challenges on political party matters, applied.

In today’s proceedings, Suhaili’s lawyer, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, argued that his client’s case ought to be remitted to the High Court for trial as it involved the validity of Section 18C.

Lawyer Chetan Jethwani, representing Bersatu, submitted that Suhaili was entitled to speak as he wished as an MP, but was responsible for the consequences if his conduct offended his own party.