GEORGE TOWN, March 4 — The four state assemblymen from Perikatan Nasional (PN) who failed to stop the tabling of a motion to vacate their seats will still attend the assembly sitting on Monday.
Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin, one of the four affected representatives, said they would attend the sitting and were prepared for any eventuality, including being asked to leave the House if the motion was passed.
‘’We will be present to defend our position during the debate on the motion, especially regarding the loopholes in Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution. This piece of legislation does not give the Speaker the power to vacate seats and is also vague on the definition of party-hopping.
“The state government is trying to seize the mandate given by the people, by using the motion to vacate seats. They (state government) want to determine who should be in the assembly when it was the people (voters) who put us there,’’ he told a press conference here today.
Apart from Afif, the other affected assemblymen are Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang). They all won their seats on a Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket in the 14th general election in May 2018.
The issue of their status as assemblymen arose after the four left the PH coalition.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state assembly would table the motion to vacate their seats on Monday, following a Federal Court ruling that a provision in Penang’s constitution against party-hopping passed in 2012 is valid and consistent with the Federal Constitution. — Bernama
