THE decision of the 14 Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sabah assemblymen to leave and become direct members of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) does not affect the position of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister, says a lawyer.
Constitutional lawyer Datuk Fuad Tengku Ahmad said this is because the GRS-Barisan Nasional coalition in Sabah remains intact.
He said this is due to the support of the 46 reps, in addition to the confidence and supply commitment of the seven Pakatan Harapan assemblymen, backing Hajiji as Chief Minister.
It is also understood that Parti Kesejahteraan Demoktratik Malaysia (KDM), with three assemblymen and one independent, stand in firm support of the GRS-BN government, he said in a statement on Dec 11.
“Based on these numbers, Hajiji clearly has the support of 57 assemblymen – a majority in the 79-member state assembly and thus continues to enjoy the confidence of the assembly in accordance with Article 6(3) of the Sabah Constitution,” said Fuad.
Responding to a statement by Datuk Darrell Leiking of Parti Warisan, he said the four GRS MPs would also not lose their seats as a result of leaving Bersatu.
“This is because the four MPs contested as Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) candidates in GE15 and not as Perikatan Nasional or Bersatu candidates,” he said.
Therefore, there is no breach of Article 49A of the Federal Constitution since the four MPs were elected under GRS, said Fuad.
Leiking, who is Warisan deputy President, questioned Hajiji’s position as Chief Minister after he (Hajiji) led the mass exodus of Sabah Bersatu leaders on Dec 10.
Meanwhile, Sabah Law Society (SLS) President Roger Chin said there are still no court rulings to guide the interpretation and application of the Anti-Hop Law that came into effect on Oct. 5 at the national (parliament) level.
He said the new Article 49A of the Federal Constitution deals with the change of a member’s political party, etc. It states:
49A. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Article, a member of the House of Representatives shall cease to be a member of that House and his seat shall become vacant immediately on a date a casual vacancy is established by the Speaker under Clause (3) if:
(a) Having been elected to the House of Representatives as a member of a political party
(i) He resigns as a member of the political party; or,
(ii) He ceases to be a member of the political party; or,
(b) Having been elected to the House of Representatives otherwise than as a member of a political party, he joins a political party as a member.
(2) A member of the House of Representatives shall not cease to be a member of that House pursuant to this Article only by reason of
(a) The dissolution or cancellation of the registration of his political party;
(b) His resignation from the membership of his political party upon election as a Speaker; or,
(c) The expulsion of his membership of his political party.
He said the operative words are “member of a political party”.
“What these words mean are far from clear. Does ‘political party’ mean an individual political party like Umno and PKR or does it include a registered political coalition like BN or GRS?
“It has been reported that the GRS constitution allows for the coalition to operate as a political party, though currently its membership is based on political parties.
“If this is correct, then are members of parliament members of GRS or only the party they are members of e.g. Bersatu members of GRS? Presently there is not enough information available to determine this issue one way or another.
“Watikahs (letter of appointment), flags and symbols a member stood under could play a role in factors to be considered in arriving at answers to these questions,” he said.
He said the anti-hopping law is designed to prevent persons who are elected under the ticket of a political party from crossing over to another political party after winning a seat.
“However, what if the persons cross over from one coalition party to another coalition party but still remain in the same coalition? Was the law also intended to stop this?
“It must also be recognised that Malaysia has historically seen coalitions governing rather than a single majority party ruling by itself.
“Lastly, it should be remembered that the vacating of a seat is not automatic and under Article 49A (3), the Speaker of the House must first establish that there is such a vacancy.
“The Anti-Hop Law was only brought into force on 5 October 2022 and so far, there are no court decisions in Malaysia that can provide guidance on the interpretation of the new law and how it is to be applied.
“Of course, as far as State Assemblymen are concerned, the anti-hopping law does not apply as the State Constitution has yet to be amended to include the same,” he said.
— EDITOR
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