GEORGE TOWN – A former Penang backbencher has urged the four Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmakers in the state to respect the law and gracefully exit the Penang assembly in the event the house here passes a motion tomorrow to strip them of their seats.
Former Batu Uban assemblyman and veteran lawyer S. Raveentharan hoped the four backbenchers led by Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya-Bersatu) will understand the due process of the law and the enactments passed by the state.
The four had won their seats on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket in 2018 but later had quit to join PN.
“It is simply the law. The four left another coalition to join a new one,” said Raveentharan.
“It is akin to party hopping which runs contrary to the anti-party hopping legislation passed in 2012 in Penang. So, they should be a gentleman and leave accordingly.”
However, he said that the assembly, which sits tomorrow, should allow the four aggrieved assemblymen to state their arguments against the expulsion.
He said that if they are dismissed, it would be a historic move and a telling lesson to other politicians harbouring intentions to hop between parties, although whether the four will respect the process remains to be seen.
The landmark motion is expected to be passed because PH holds 33 state seats, which is two-thirds of the house, as opposed to PN’s five and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) two.
Furthermore, BN is now considered an ally after the formation of the unity government.
The new state opposition leader is Bertam assemblyman Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq, who is among the four backbenchers facing expulsion from the 40-member legislative chamber due to the state’s anti-party hopping law.
Besides Khaliq Mehtab, who has also vacated his chairmanship of the Penang Regional Development Authority, the other two are Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sg Acheh-Bersatu) and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang-Bersatu)
This leaves PAS’ Yusni Mat Piah (Penaga-PAS) as the sole opposition lawmaker should the state assembly expel the aforementioned four and if one is to exclude BN due to its cooperation with PH at the national level.
The 14th legislative assembly’s term will also technically end with tomorrow’s sitting and Penang is bracing for possible state polls by June.
Afif could not be reached for comment, but he told a press briefing yesterday that the four will defend their positions at all costs, asserting that Penang was practising double standards over the anti-party hopping matter.
“This is especially on the loopholes in Act 14A of the Penang constitution. The act does not empower the speaker to vacate seats.
“It also includes the vague definition of party-hopping. What the state government is doing is that it wants to usurp the people’s mandate. They (state government) want to decide who should be in the state assembly while the people elect us,” he said.
He added that the four representatives are ready to face any possibilities, including being told to leave the assembly building, if the motion passes.
The Vibes reported earlier that a motion was submitted to the office of Penang speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang for the four PN assemblymen to vacate their seats after they failed to obtain an interim injunction from the courts here.
Law, when reached, urged all backbenchers to respect the standing orders of the house and this includes if they are asked to relinquish their positions.
The Penang high court had fixed March 3 to hear amendments in the case relating to the four assemblymen who filed for an emergency injunction against the state assembly on a motion to vacate their seats.
When dismissing the application, judicial commissioner Azizan Arshad said the court cannot interfere with how Parliament or a state assembly is managed.
Last year, a seven-member Federal Court bench unanimously ruled that a provision in the Penang’s constitution against party-hopping passed in 2012 is valid law.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ruled that the previous decision made by the Supreme Court in the Datuk Nordin Salleh case, where a Kelantan anti-party-hopping law was declared null and void, was overruled by the apex court.
The sole constitutional question posed by the Penang assembly to the Federal Court was “whether Article 14A of the state constitution of Penang is void for being inconsistent with Article 10(c) of the federal constitution”, to which the bench answered to the negative.
“On reading the cause papers and hearing the submission, it is our unanimous decision that Article 14A is not void as it is not against Article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution. In making the argument, the appellants (the four assemblymen) cannot say their rights to association guaranteed by Article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution are affected,” Tengku Maimun said. – The Vibes, March 5, 2023
