KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (Beluran-PN) wants the motion of confidence for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be postponed for at least 21 days until the status of four Sabah MPs who defected from Bersatu is resolved.
During the debate for the motion today, Kiandee questioned the need for it as the status of these MPs remain in limbo, fearing that their support for Anwar could become invalid if the lawmakers are later found to have breached the anti-hopping law.
Kiandee, who is the Sabah PN and Bersatu chief, said that while the four MPs had contested under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) banner, they were also Bersatu members.
“So how could they be direct members of GRS when they were members of Bersatu? Perhaps they were ‘members’ of GRS but their souls were with Bersatu," he told the Dewan Rakyat.
On December 11, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor, who is also GRS chairman, announced that he and other lawmakers had quit Bersatu but remained GRS members.
GRS, which previously comprised Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Sabah STAR, Sabah Progressive Party, and United Sabah National Organisation, partnered with Barisan Nasional to govern Sabah.
Hajiji said they will now be collectively GRS members until they form a new local party.
The four Sabah Bersatu candidates who won in the last general election under GRS tickets are Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang), and Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau).
Previously, Armizan said there are provisions under the GRS constitution for direct membership.
Today, however, Kiandee challenged this notion, arguing that this was merely used to justify the decision to switch allegiances without appearing to be in breach of the anti-hopping law.
In this matter, in accordance with Article 49A(3) of the federal constitution, the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat must first establish the vacancies of all four seats. – The Vibes, December 19, 2022
