All the other BN assemblypersons and those friendly to BN were sworn in today in the presence of Speaker Ahmad Abdul Rahman in a ceremony which began at about 8.30am before the start of the First Meeting of the First Session of the 15th Sabah State Assembly in Kota Kinabalu.
Parti Solidariti president Jeffrey Kitingan said he received a letter from the office of the speaker of the assembly dated June 17 to attend the ceremony today to be sworn in.
“We abided by the speaker’s instructions,” he told reporters after attending the opening of the state assembly sitting today.
Jeffrey said the speaker and his two deputies were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said the representatives from BN and several other parties were sworn in again this morning in compliance with the state constitution.
He said that under the procedure of the assembly sittings, it was necessary for the Yang di-Pertua Negeri to be informed and the swearing-in held before the state mace to symbolise that the Yang di-Pertua Negeri had given his consent.
“Not that the previous (swearing-in of the BN representatives) ceremony is not valid, but it did not comply with the regulations,” he told reporters when met after the opening of the assembly by Sabah Yang di-Pertua Juhar Mahiruddin.
Shafie said that under the regulations for the state assembly sittings, the swearing-in ceremony of the assemblymen must be held at the first meeting of the state assembly.
“We do not want to set a precedent where, after an election, two or three people enter the speaker’s chambers to be sworn in because there must be a notification, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri must have knowledge (of the event) and the mace must be there as a symbol of the Yang Dipertua Negeri’s authority, which is handed down to the Speaker empowering him to preside over the assembly,” he said.
At about 8 am today, all the people’s representatives allied to Sabah BN chairperson Musa Aman, except Musa himself, were sworn in again as state assemblyperson in the presence of the speaker.
On June 11, all the 43 Warisan assemblypersons, including the four appointed assemblymen, led by Shafie, attended a special sitting of the assembly and were sworn in. They also approved a vote of confidence in Shafie as the chief minister.
However, all the 21 state assemblypersons from Umno and the former BN component parties such as PBS, PBRS, Upko and Solidariti allied to Musa were not present at the special sitting.
The next day (June 12), 19 of the 21 assemblypersons took their oath in the presence of the speaker.
Musa, who is Sungai Sibuga state assemblyperson, is currently undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom.
- Bernama
