GEORGE TOWN: After almost three years of fighting against it, the axe has finally fallen on four Penang state assemblymen.
The four Perikatan men – Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang) – became the first victims of Penang’s anti-hopping law when the state assembly passed a landmark motion to have them removed.
All four had won their seats on the Pakatan Harapan ticket.
The drama yesterday unfolded when Dr Afif was warned by Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang to stop taking videos of the proceedings.
He also told the others he would not allow them to continue if they did not adhere to the House rules.
The motion to vote for the four to be removed, which was the first order of the day, was moved by Deputy Chief Minister l Datuk Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman.
That set off a three-and-a-half-hour debate with assemblymen trading barbs and “fireworks”, with Pakatan assemblymen telling the four to leave honourably instead of trying to justify their places in the assembly.
The four were literally shown the door and told to leave by Law.
Sudden exit: (From left) Khaliq, Zolkifly, Zulkifli (wearing sunglasses) and Dr Afif walking out of the state legislative assembly building in George Town. — LIM BENGTATT/The Star( March 06, 2023 )— LIM BENG TATT/The Star.
He said the seats would be vacant but no by-election would be held as the next state election was only months away.
Dr Afif – a former PKR exco man who defected to Bersatu – bore the full brunt when Pakatan assemblymen refused to allow him to interject or continue without disruption.
“They can’t wait to chase us out,” said a miffed Dr Afif.
“The people should be the ultimate deciders and the state should wait until the next election to determine our status.
“There isn’t much protection for elected representatives under article 14A of the state constitution. It should be amended to be in line with the Federal Anti-Hopping Law,” he added.
While the federal law allows MPs to keep their seats if they defect as a coalition or if they are sacked, the state constitution does not.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, however, said it was not true that their removal was rushed.
He said they had waited two and half years for the four to exhaust all legal avenues until a decision was handed down by the High Court last week.
The High Court had dismissed the assemblymen’s application for an injunction to prevent the state assembly from tabling a motion to vacate their seats until an appeal is heard.
Judicial Commisioner Azizan Md Arshad ruled that the courts had no power to interfere with the internal management of Parliament or any state legislative assembly.
Earlier, the Federal Court had ruled that Article 14A of the state constitution was valid.
Article 14A states that an assemblyman shall vacate his seat if, having been elected as a candidate of a political party, he resigns or is expelled from a party or having been elected otherwise than as a candidate of a political party, he joins a political party.
“It pains my heart to bring this motion to the House but the courts have agreed that Article 14A is valid and as assemblymen, you have a duty, and the most honourable act would be to vacate the seat.
“There must be certain political ethics and morality as a people’s representative. You were elected because of the party and not as an individual,” he said.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PH-Pantai Jerejak) said the action of the four, which was part of the Sheraton Move, led to the erosion of public trust and paralysed the government of the day.
Opposition Leader Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor (Umno-Sungai Dua), who abstained from voting, urged the House to postpone any voting on the issue, although he was against party hopping.
Mohd Yusni Mat Piah (Perikatan-Penaga) said the Opposition was taken by surprise as amending Article 14A should have taken precedence over the vote to vacate the seats.
He voted against the motion.
The state assembly proceedings finally concluded with the motion to remove the four concerned assemblymen passed with a verbal vote.Khaliq, who spoke at a press conference outside the assembly building, said the eviction of the four was unconstitutional as Article 14A was not in line with the Federal Law.
He was also surprised that Umno’s Muhamad Yusoff was still the Opposition Leader.
“I was recommended for the position by Perikatan but Sungai Dua (assemblyman) is still Opposition Leader although Umno is now part of the unity government.
“We will look into the next course of action,” he said, adding: “We will be back stronger once the state election is held.”
Meanwhile, Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin decried the removal of the four as an “abuse of power” with a political motive.
This was especially so in the case of Khaliq and Zolkifly, who had done nothing to deserve such an outcome, he said in a statement.
“They never quit their post or were sacked by the party, or joined another party. They have remained Bersatu members until now,” he said.
