Speaker must declare Labuan seat vacant, says Bersatu leader

Summary

• The Dewan Rakyat speaker must declare the vacancy of the Labuan seat, says Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee.

• He says this is because of the Shah Alam High Court’s decision, which dismissed the Labuan MP’s lawsuit to challenge his automatic expulsion from Bersatu.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul has no choice but to declare the Labuan seat vacant, said Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee.

This is due to the Shah Alam High Court's decision, which dismissed Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman’s lawsuit to challenge his automatic expulsion from Bersatu, Ronald said.

“Since the Shah Alam High Court has quashed the writ of summons and statement of claim filed by Suhaili, it is clear that the reasons relied on by (the) speaker for not vacating the Labuan seat and rejecting my application in the previous letter dated July 9, 2024 are no longer relevant and applicable.

“Therefore, (the) speaker has no other choice but to respect and uphold the Federal Constitution by declaring that there is a vacancy for the Labuan parliamentary seat to enable the Election Commission (EC) to make a decision for a by-election to be held immediately,” he said in a statement today.

Ronald said he also sent a letter to Johari on this matter today.

Last week, the Shah Alam High Court ruled in favour of Bersatu after Judge Nor Hayati Mat found that Suhaili’s lawsuit did not have merit.

“Bersatu’s application to strike out the suit was allowed and the court ordered the plaintiff to pay RM5,000 in costs to the party,” Bersatu's lawyer Chetan Jethwani told Bernama.

In a filing sighted by Malaysiakini, Bersatu said Suhaili’s membership cessation lawsuit is an attempt to get around the anti-hopping law.

The Bersatu 6

Suhaili is one of six former Bersatu lawmakers whose status as MPs was in question, but Johari allowed them to keep their parliamentary seats.

The Bersatu membership termination occurred after the six declared their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in October 2023.

After that, Bersatu amended its constitution to strip any member of membership in the party if they defected.

This was expected to trigger the anti-hopping law per Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, and their seats will be vacated.

However, Johari rejected Bersatu’s bid to vacate the six seats.

In a letter by the speaker sighted by Malaysiakini, he argued that the anti-hopping provisions in the Federal Constitution are meant to ensure political stability.

Hence, after considering all evidence and testimony, the speaker ruled that there was no need for the Bersatu MPs to vacate their seats and that they are still considered opposition lawmakers.

Other than Suhaili, the five are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang).

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