KOTA KINABALU – Parti Warisan Sabah’s call for Hassan A. Gani Pg Amir to resign as Sebatik assemblyman after he announced his support for the state ruling coalition may prove futile.
Sabah Law Society president Roger Chin said this is despite a letter signed by Hassan and a video of him pledging to stay in Warisan until the next state election, failing which, he will relinquish his post as rep.
There are laws allowing assemblymen to defect without losing their seats, he told The Vibes.
He said the case of Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan v Nordin Salleh in 1992 showed that an elected representative who crosses over to another party cannot be penalised by having his seat forfeited.
The court ruled that doing so goes against Article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution that guarantees freedom of association, he said.
In 1982, said Chin, the Federal Court, in the case of Sarawak United Peoples’ Party member Datuk Ong Kee Hui against then party president Sinyium Mutit, ruled that the arrangement of submitting an undated resignation letter to the state speaker is contrary to public policy, and therefore, void.
“It follows that a by-election is also not required by law if such a crossover takes place.
“For public policy, the said resignation letter is clearly invalid, as what these cases say.”
Warisan yesterday handed over Hassan’s resignation letter, which he had signed prior to the state polls last September, to the Sabah speaker’s office. The letter is dated February 26.
Party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has said Warisan is mulling legal action against Hassan should it fail to compel him to step down as assemblyman.
Hassan has taken to Facebook to say he was forced to sign the letter, and that had he refused to do so, he would not have been named a Warisan candidate in the September 26 vote.
He announced his departure from the party on February 25, and voiced support for state ruling coalition Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, as well as the leadership of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Md Noor – both of them Bersatu men. – The Vibes, March 3, 2021
