PETALING JAYA: Whatever happens in the Nenggiri state seat in Kelantan will have no bearing on the six parliamentary seats held by the six sacked Bersatu lawmakers, say experts, as federal and state legislatures operate under different laws.
They also said that there are no provisions under the Kelantan state constitution for the Nenggiri state seat to be declared vacant because its elected rep, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (pic), had won the seat under a PAS ticket and not Bersatu.
“The decision by Kelantan is for that state. It is not legally binding on other states such as Penang and Selangor,” said senior lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla.
Likewise, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul is not bound to follow Kelantan, he said.
“It is not binding in the legal sense such as in the case of courts’ decisions,” Mohamed Haniff said when contacted.
Although he won Nenggiri under the PAS banner, Mohd Azizi, who is also Gua Musang MP holds a Bersatu membership.
Last week, Bersatu declared that he, along with five other MPs and a Selangor state lawmaker, were no longer members after they failed to respond to special letters requiring them to pledge their loyalty to the party by May 31.
After successfully amending its constitution, Bersatu members will automatically cease to be members if they go against the party’s decisions, and its elected representatives must vacate their seats.
Besides Mohd Azizi, the other sacked elected reps are Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Syed Abdul Fasal, Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang) and Selat Klang assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari.
Nusantara Strategic Research Academy senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said there is no justification for the Kelantan Speaker’s decision.
“Although the Speaker said he is relying on Article 13 of the Kelantan state constitution, the provisions under the article do not say at all that an elected representative who is sacked by his party, loses his seat.
“There is no such provision to say that the seat must be vacated.”
Article 13 merely states that the Speaker must write to the Election Commission to inform them of a vacancy which needs to be filled within 60 days of the acknowledgement of the vacancy notice, Azmi said.
Political scientist Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said that Mohd Azizi won the Nenggiri seat during Kelantan state election in August last year on PAS ticket, not Bersatu.
“It would be different if Mohd Azizi had contested for Perikatan Nasional under the Bersatu ticket,” said Tunku Mohar of the International Islamic University.
Tunku Mohar and Azmi concurred that the Kelantan Assembly’s decision will have no bearing on the fate of the other sacked Bersatu elected reps.
That being the case, Ilham Centre executive director Hisommuddin Bakar said that the Kelantan Assembly’s actions will put pressure on Dewan Rakyat Speaker to decide on the fate of the sacked Bersatu MPs.
“The decision will surely become a precedent because the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly had amended its anti-hopping laws in line with federal laws in 2022,” he said.
However, he said there is likely to be a difference in the interpretation of the law and standing orders.
“It will depend on how Dewan Rakyat Speaker interprets the law and if his actions differ from that taken by the Kelantan legislature.
“If this happens, questions will continue about whether the anti-hopping laws affect the six Bersatu MPs,” he said.
