KOTA KINABALU, March 5 — The status of Datuk Peter Anthony as Melalap assemblyman has yet to be determined despite the Kuala Lumpur Court of Appeal upholding his conviction yesterday, said Datuk Seri Panglima Kadzim M Yahya.
The Sabah State Assembly Speaker confirmed that under Article 17(1)(e) of the Sabah State Constitution, any state assemblyman convicted of an offence by a federal court and sentenced to at least one year in prison or fined a minimum of RM2,000 would be disqualified from holding office.
However, he noted that this provision must be considered alongside other relevant sections of the Sabah State Constitution regarding the disqualification of an assemblyman.
“As such, the status of YB Peter Anthony as the representative for N35 Melalap will only be determined once all relevant legal provisions have been fulfilled,” Kadzim told a press conference at the Sabah Assembly Building meeting room here.
He said Peter has 14 days from yesterday (March 4) to pursue other legal avenues after which the seat would be vacated automatically.
He explained that Peter is technically still the assemblyman until March 18.
“It will be up to his lawyers to discuss what he has to do within the 14 days,” Kadzim said.
Peter, who is Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) president, won the Melalap seat in 2018 and is a two-term assemblyman for the constituency.
Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur Court of Appeal upheld the former Sabah infrastructure development minister’s conviction and sentence of three years imprisonment and RM50,000 fine for falsifying documents related to a maintenance and service contract at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) 11 years ago.
This followed a decision by a panel of three Court of Appeal judges, comprising Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Azmi Ariffin in dismissing Peter’s appeal against his conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on May 26, 2022.
The court also ordered Peter to begin his sentence in Kajang Prison immediately. — The Borneo Post
