Penang assembly motion submitted to remove four Perikatan assemblymen

GEORGE TOWN – A motion has been submitted to the office of Penang speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang for the four Perikatan Nasional (PN) state assemblymen to vacate their seats after they failed to obtain an interim injunction.

The state assembly will sit for its last session before the dissolution of its 14th legislative term as six state elections, including Penang’s, will be held later this year.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (Padang Kota-PH) has confirmed that the motion will be tabled as part of due process.

The landmark motion is expected to be passed because Pakatan Harapan (PH) holds 33 state seats, which is two-thirds of the house, as opposed to PN’s five and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) two. However, BN is now considered an ally after the formation of the unity government.

The four, led by Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya-PN), defected from the PH coalition to join PN in 2020 after the infamous Sheraton move toppled the then-PH federal administration.

Afif, Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sg Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang) are expected to face fellow backbenchers when the motion is tabled.

However, the four elected reps may skip the proceedings altogether. So far, the four have yet to respond to calls.

The Penang high court has fixed March 3 to hear amendments in the case relating to the four assemblymen who filed for an injunction against the Penang assembly on a motion to vacate their seats.

However, judicial commissioner Azizan Arshad yesterday said the court cannot interfere with how Parliament or a state assembly is managed.

With this, he dismissed the applications for an interim injunction against vacating their seats.

On January 20, the high court dismissed the suits by the four Penang assemblymen against the Penang assembly and speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang over a motion introduced in October 2020 for them to vacate their seats.

However, they filed an appeal against the decision at the Court of Appeal on January 25.

On December 16 last year, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the leave applications by the four assemblymen to challenge the competency of the state assembly to pass an anti-hopping law.

The four assemblymen had filed the suit in 2020 to challenge the constitutionality of Article 14A(1) of the Penang constitution and to stop their seats from being declared vacant, pursuant to Article 14A(1).

Article 14A states that an assemblyman shall vacate their seat if, having been elected as a candidate of a political party, they resign or are expelled from a party, or having been elected otherwise than as a candidate of a political party, they join a political party. 

Separately, the state assembly will select a new senator from PH, with veteran Seberang Prai city councillor David Marshall reportedly in the lead to replace Lim Hui Ying, who was appointed deputy education minister after winning the Tanjong parliamentary seat.

The sitting will convene from Monday. – The Vibes, March 3, 2023