Published: Thursday October 1, 2009 MYT 1:31:00 PM
Updated: Thursday October 1, 2009 MYT 7:34:13 PM
Kedah Speaker sues state rep, EC (Update)
By LISA GOH
KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Dr Abdul Isa Ismail has filed a suit against Kota Siputeh assemblyman Datuk Abu Hassan Sarif and the Election Commission.
He is seeking a judicial review against the Commission’s decision to retain Abu Hassan as state assemblyman.
The application was filed at the High Court (Appeals and Special Powers Division) Registry at 11.11am on Thursday, via the firm of Messrs Chooi & Company.
Dr Abdul Isa named Barisan Nasional’s Abu Hassan and the Commission as defendants, and is seeking a declaration that the former is no longer the assemblyman for the Kota Siputeh seat following his failure to attend two consecutive sittings of the state assembly without the permission of the Speaker.
Abu Hassan was absent for the sittings on April 19 and Aug 9 this year.
According to the state constitution, a seat is considered vacant should the state assemblyman fail to attend two consecutive assembly sittings.
Dr Abdul Isa also wants a court order for Abu Hassan to prove on what authority he was still the state assemblyman, and an injunction to stop him from carrying out any of his duties as a state assemblyman.
He also wants the court to declare the seat vacant, and an order for the Commission to call for a by-election, along with damages, costs and other reliefs deemed fit by the court.
In the March election last year, PAS won 16 state seats in Kedah, the DAP won one and PKR won four; Barisan Nasional (BN) won 14 seats while one seat went to an independent candidate.
Abdul Isa claimed that the Commission’s decision in letting Abu Hassan keep his seat and his absence from the sittings would hamper his duties as Speaker in ensuring the smooth running of the House.
He said that by doing so, the Commission’s decision was an insult to the state assembly and might cause havoc to its proceedings, should an assemblyman who has lost his credibility still be allowed to appear as an assemblyman.
On Sept 1, the Commission decided that there was no vacancy in the Kota Siputeh seat and that Abu Hassan, who had won the seat in the 12th general election, was still its assemblyman.
The decision came after Abdul Isa notified the Commission on Aug 17 of a casual vacancy for the seat after Abu Hassan failed to attend the two sittings of the assembly.
The Commission held that the two meetings which Abu Hassan had failed to attend were not within the same term and that the delay in handing over his medical certificate for the Aug 9 sitting did not nullify the certificate.
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