PENAMPANG – Passing Sabah’s anti-party hopping law was more important than abolishing a certain provision of the state constitution on appointing the chief minister, said Datuk Ewon Benedick.
The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation president, who is also Kadamaian assemblyman, said despite the removal of Article 6(7) of the state constitution, the selection and appointment of the chief minister could still be done under Article 6(3).
He added that Article 6(7) no longer seemed relevant and should be abolished, citing a loophole where it does not clarify whether a party leader is qualified to be chief minister despite losing in an election even if their party wins a majority.
“In my view, it should be considered that there was a clear winner, a party that won more than 50% in the election. Then in the event that there is no party or coalition of parties that win more than half, what is tabled and approved will serve as a guide for the TYT (Tuan Yang Terutama, the Sabah governor) to select a chief minister based on the person with majority support,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Article 6(7) infers that the party of whoever becomes chief minister would have taken a simple majority of seats.
The Sabah assembly passed the Sabah State Constitution (Amendment) 2023 last Thursday with 75 assemblymen approving, while four were absent, during its third reading after it was tabled by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
During the second reading, a bloc vote conducted on Clause 2 of the bill witnessed 61 assemblymen approving that Article 6(7) be abolished, 14 against, and four absent.
Ewon said there was a need to refine Article 6(7) so that the state governor could have a clearer guide to appoint a chief minister after elections, and he welcomed a special committee to strengthen the definition in the state constitution.
He also said that an interpretation of selecting a chief minister from minority parties in the assembly was not as easy as claimed following the abolishment of Article 6(7).
“The party with more elected representatives will always claim they are more qualified to be appointed chief minister. We need to view it from a practical and realistic manner, not just assumptions,” he said, adding that every coalition had their own formulas to determine their chief minister candidate. – Bernama, May 29, 2023
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