Time's up: Malacca speaker to discuss action on defecting rep

The office of the Malacca legislative assembly speaker will meet next week to discuss action against Rembia assemblyperson Muhammad Jailani Khamis for defecting.

Berita Harian reported speaker Ibrahim Durum saying the 14-day notice given to Jailani to explain his defection expired today.

“There was no answer from him when the deadline that I gave ended today.

“I will call a team from the speaker’s office, including the state’s legal advisor for a special meeting next week to discuss further actions,” he was quoted as saying.

Former state executive councillor Jailani (above), who is serving a six-year suspension from Umno, said last month that he defected from the Malacca government after Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh broke promises made in the 2021 state election manifesto.

Subsequently, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party would take Jailani to court as the representative had signed a contract which required him to relinquish his membership if he went against the party and to pay RM100 million as compensation.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan revealed on July 16 that Jailani had been a member of the Islamist party since June 2023, which was about a month before the Malacca assembly passed its anti-party-hopping law.

Jailani first won the Rembia seat on a PKR ticket during the 14th general election in 2018. Two years later, he defected to BN along with three others from Pakatan Harapan to form a new state government.

He later successfully defended the seat for BN in the 2021 state election.

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