KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun has said he would not be able to “prejudge” what’s next for the four MPs from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Azhar said since it will be the duty of the Speaker to establish vacancy, he was not able to divulge more on the situation.
“I can’t comment. It will be the duty of the Speaker to ‘establish vacancy’ under the Federal Constitution upon being notified by any MP.
“Thus, I can’t say anything as I can’t prejudge the issue,” Azhar said when contacted by Malay Mail.
Yesterday, former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar explained that the mechanism to set in motion the next move has yet to happen.
He said the mechanism might only be triggered when Parliament sits on December 19, when, for example, an MP writes a letter to the Speaker to inform him of the four MPs’ departure from Bersatu.
If that happens, Wan Junaidi said the Speaker has 21 days to establish whether the MPs have left the party, thereby establishing vacancy.
The method of establishing vacancy involves asking the party whether the MPs have already left.
A check with the Registrar of Societies would also be required to determine whether the MPs have been deregistered as party members.
After that, based on his assessment, the Speaker will write to the Election Commission stating that these individuals have left the party, following which an election must be held within 60 days of the date of the letter to the Speaker from the MP who lodged the complaint in the first place.
Wan Junaidi added that it was the constitutional duty of the Speaker to establish vacancy within 21 days.
Earlier, de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the Dewan Rakyat Speaker will be the one to decide what happens next to the four MPs in question.
She also said that she was waiting for an official report from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) on the position of the MPs as well as from Sabah attorney general as the state may have a different “situation”.
On December 10, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor announced that leaders of Sabah Bersatu had unanimously quit the party and would be known as GRS members until it forms a new local party.
He did not name the leaders involved.
Sabah has six MPs who contested and won under the GRS symbol in the November 19 general election.
Two of them hold federal government positions. They are Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs); and Batu Sapi MP Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, who is deputy minister of tourism, arts and culture.
The remaining four are Keningau MP Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also second Sabah deputy chief minister, Tawau MP Lo Su Fui, Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yasin and Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah.
Sabah-based constitutional lawyer Datuk Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad told Malay Mail yesterday that these MPs are not in violation of Article 49A of the Federal Constitution — also known as the anti-party hopping law — as they had contested in the recent general election under a GRS ticket.
Article 49A states that a member of a political party who was elected to Parliament shall cease to be a member of the House of Representatives and that member’s seat shall become vacant immediately if such a member resigns his or her party membership or ceases to be a member.
