The Pakatan state government in Perak filed a suit at the High Court in Ipoh today to declare the Behrang, Changkat Jering and Jelapang state seats vacant.

The suit was filed at 11.40am. Perak assembly speaker V Sivakumar and senior state executive councillor Ngeh Koo Ham were present.

The representatives for the three seats - Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang), Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Hee Yit Fong (Jelapang) - had claimed that their resignation letters signed soon after being elected in March last year were made under duress.

Sivakumar and Ngeh, in a joint statement, reiterated that Sivakumar had accepted the resignations of the three elected representatives and the state government had recognised that they were no longer elected representatives the said constituencies.

"This declaration is sought to compel the Election Commission to recognise that the said three seats have fallen vacant and by-elections must be called," the statement said.