FOUR Members of Parliament (MPs) of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) formerly with Bersatu were told on Jan 16 they did not have to vacate their seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
Papar MP Datuk Armizan Ali said he and three other MPs had been informed of their status in a copy of an email sent on Jan 16 from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul to Bersatu Vice-President Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.
Kiandee had accused the four MPs of crossing the floor in violation of their election promise to voters as well as Bersatu’s constitution. Armizan, Khairul Firdaus Akhbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang) had said earlier that they were leaving Bersatu to form a new party.
The four MPs had been elected in the November general election on the GRS ticket, while Bersatu was then part of GRS.
However, after the general election, coalition leaders said they had left Bersatu en masse. GRS, led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, then aligned with the Government formed by Pakatan Harapan Chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The four MPs were seated among government MPs when the Dewan Rakyat convened on Dec 19.
Bersatu, as part of Perikatan Nasional, is in the opposition bloc together with its main partner PAS. Asked about the email, Armizan told FMT: “I don’t want to talk a lot about this because the letter was a reply to Ronald. I’ll comment if the Speaker issues a statement.”
The letter was in response to a notice sent by Kiandee to the Speaker informing him that there were casual vacancies involving MPs who contested the general election as Bersatu members. Kiandee said the seats must be vacated under the anti-hopping law and the MPs must cease to become members of the Dewan Rakyat.
The anti-party hopping law at the federal level, which was enacted early last year, states that an MP from a political party has to vacate his seat under two conditions – if he resigns as a member of a political party, or if he ceases to be a member of the political party.
Meanwhile, Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah also confirmed that he received a copy of a letter from the Speaker addressed to Kiandee on Jan 16. Matbali said copies of the letter were also sent to other three MPs.
He added that the copy of the letter had also explained to Kiandee the grounds that justified the four MPs not having to vacate their seats. “I am satisfied with the outcome and am thankful. Hopefully, everything will go well,” Matbali said, adding that he has constantly been in contact with the other three MPs.
Meanwhile, Jonathan expressed his gratitude to the Dewan Rakyat speaker for making the right decision.
“It will surely help us to focus more on our duties as the people’s representative in our respective areas.”
