Report: Sabah’s four GRS MPs to keep their seats

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 ― The four Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) parliamentarians, formerly with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), were told yesterday they did not have to vacate their seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

The decision means that Datuk Matbali Musah, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan and Datuk Jonathan Yasin get to keep their federal seats.

Armizan, who is the Papar MP, said he and the three other MPs had been informed of their status in a copy of an email sent yesterday from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul to Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported last night that Armizan declined to comment further on the letter’s contents.

“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.” Armizan told the news portal.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) was referring to the letter that 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 was reported to have claimed that the seats must be vacated under the anti-hopping law and the MPs must cease to become members of the Dewan Rakyat.

The Beluran MP had earlier accused the four federal lawmakers of crossing the floor in violation of their election promise to voters as well as Bersatu’s constitution.

Under the anti-hopping law, made by an amendment to the Federal Constitution, MPs stand to lose their seats if they move to another party. Exceptions are given to MPs sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.

On December 11 last year, the four MPs announced that they were leaving Bersatu to form a new party. They claimed to have been elected in the November general election on the GRS ticket, while Bersatu was then part of GRS.

However, after the 15th general election (GE15), coalition leaders said they had left Bersatu. GRS, led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, then aligned with the government formed by Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The four MPs were seated among government MPs when the Dewan Rakyat convened on December 19.

Bersatu is the lynchpin party of the federal Opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, together with its main partner PAS.