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The Court of Appeal (CA) has allowed the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) to withdraw its appeal against the application by Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu seeking the Court to declare that the Prime Minister does not have "unfettered discretion" in deciding whether and when to call by-elections.

The High Court will now hear the case on a date to be decided.

In a hearing that lasted half an hour on Wednesday morning, senior counsel David Chong, acting for the AGC, said the withdrawal was because the AGC felt there is no substratum in the case brought by Vellama now since the Prime Minister has called a by-election in the Hougang constituency.

In short, he argued that there is no case to be heard and thus the AGC is withdrawing its appeal against Justice Pillai's decision in March for the case to be heard in open court.

The AGC's appeal was also objected to by M Ravi, lawyer for Vellama, who had filed an application to strike out the AGC's appeal. M Ravi said the AGC's submission of its appeal contravened the rules of court which required the AGC to seek leave from Justice Pillai. The AGC had not done so before making the appeal to the CA.

Read the full report by Andrew Loh written for Yahoo Singapore here.

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With Singaporeans still unhappy over various national issues, it is no surprise that the ruling party is trying to focus the Hougang by-election as a “local election” and nothing more.

The Straits Times reported the Deputy Prime Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as saying that “[the] by-election in Hougang is strictly about choosing the MP who can best help its residents solve their problems.” Tharman is also the 2nd assistant secretary general of the People’s Action Party (PAP), and was the one who introduced the PAP’s candidate, Desmond Choo, as the party’s choice to run in Hougang.

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On 12 May 2012, the Straits Times print edition and Today (online) both reported on the court application by Ms Vellama Marie Muthu with regards to the Hougang by-election.

Ms Vellama, a Hougang resident, had sought the court to declare that the Prime Minister does not have “unfettered discretion” in deciding whether and when he would call a by-election. She also sought the court to order the PM to hold a by-election in Hougang within 3 months or any “reasonable time” the court sees fit.

In April, High Court judge, Philip Pillai, dismissed the Attorney General’s objections and ordered the case to be heard in open court. The Attorney General then appealed against his decision at the Court of Appeal (CA). Ms Vellama, represented by lawyer M Ravi, subsequently appealed against the AG’s appeal, arguing that the AG had not followed the proper court procedures in filing his appeal.