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Opposition cooperation will be tested again when component parties in the Barisan Alternatif (BA) meet to decide who will contest in the upcoming Gaya by-election in Sabah.

Opposition Leader and PAS acting president Abdul Hadi Awang said his party was interested to contest the seat as "we uphold democracy" and elections are part of it.

Asked about PAS' chances of winning Gaya, Abdul Hadi, who is also Terengganu menteri besar, replied in the affirmative.

However, he added that "if Keadilan is interested, we will let them have the seat".

"The BA presidential council will meet soon to discuss the matter," said Abdul Hadi.

The seat is expected to be vacated on Wednesday by former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee, who has been convicted by the Federal Court of being involved in corrupt practices during the 1999 elections.

Last week, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamed Zahir Ismail said that, Yong has to vacate his seat by Sept 18, as section 48(4) of the Federal Constitution stipulates that an elected representative found guilty by the court would automatically lose his seats 14 days after the date of judgement.

The Federal Court on Sept 3 turned down Yong's application for leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision which dismissed his appeal against an Election Court's finding that he had engaged in corrupt practices in the March 1999 state election.

The court's rejection of Yong's application meant that he had exhausted all legal avenues to set aside the Election Court's findings.

Yong was also disqualified as the state assembly representative for Likas, a seat within the Gaya parliamentary constituency.

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