Federal Court reserves decision on PKR's RM10 mil bond appeal against Zuraida

The Federal Court has reserved its decision on PKR's appeal to reinstate a ruling that former member of parliament Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin must pay RM10 million following a breach of a party bond. PKR's lawyer Ranjit Singh argued that Zuraida had admitted the value of her position exceeded RM10 million, while the bond stipulated RM10 million as the default sum.

Zuraida acknowledged that her role's value exceeded RM10 million, with the bond's operative clause setting the same amount as the payable amount in case of stipulated events, according to Ranjit. The appeal stemmed from the Court of Appeal's earlier decision reducing the quantum to RM100,000. The legal principle invoked concerned the consequences of a contractual admission of value under Section 75 of the Contracts Act, which prevents penal, oppressive, or unconscionable stipulations.

However, the bond was executed within the context of Malaysia's political landscape, where party-switching threatened government stability. Ranjit suggested that the bond's stipulated sum should be read in light of the political situation, which might explain its perceived excessiveness. Zuraida's legal team countered that political parties did not enjoy special exemptions from Section 75 of the Contracts Act.

They argued that political party status could not be used to bypass statutory protections against penalty clauses. Azhar, Zuraida's lawyer, further contended that individual candidates lacked equal bargaining power when agreeing to unilateral candidate bonds, as these were not individually negotiated agreements and were imposed by the party.

Following the submissions, the three-member Federal Court bench, including Chief Justice Tun Wan Ahmad Farid, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi, and Federal Court Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin, reserved the ruling for a future date.