Motion to vacate four Penang seats passed

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FOUR Penang state seats in the State Legislative Assembly have been declared vacant following the motion tabled to vacate the respective seats was passed in the august House this afternoon.

 

The motion to declare the seats held by Dr Afif Bahardin (PN-Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (PN-Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (PN-Bertam), and Zolkifly Md Lazim (PN-Teluk Bahang) as vacant under Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abd Rahman (PH-Pinang Tunggal).

 

(forefront from right) Khaliq Mehtab, Zulkifli, Mohd Yusni, Dr Afif, and Zolkifly taking a group photo outside the august House.

 

The motion was debated for about three and a half hours before it was passed with a voice vote.

 

Following this decision, the Speaker pursuant to Article 14A (4) of the Penang State Constitution must notify the Election Commission that there has been a vacancy in four seats in the Penang Legislative Assembly.

 

Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang.

 

It was reported that Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution states that a state assemblyman should vacate his seat if he resigns, is stripped of his membership, ceases to be a politician or is chosen as a candidate by another political party.

 

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang Legislative Assembly started the process of declaring the affected seats vacant about two and a half years ago.

 

Chow debating his speech.

 

“However, the affected state representatives started the legislative process after that. We patiently waited until the legislative process was completed before we table it in this august House today.

 

“Hence, the allegation that the motion was tabled hastily to declare the four seats vacant is not true,” Chow debated the motion today.

 

It was reported that Zulkifli, Dr Afif, Khaliq Mehtab, and Zolkifly had filed three writs of summons in 2020 against the Penang State Legislative Assembly and its Speaker to challenge a motion introduced in October 2020 for the four to vacate their seats and by-elections be held.

 

It was also reported that on April 12, 2022, Judicial Commissioner Azizan Md Arshad allowed an application by the Penang State Legislative Assembly and its Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang to refer questions to the Federal Court to hear and decide on the constitutionality of the state’s anti-hopping enactment. A seven-member Federal Court bench on Aug 3 last year unanimously ruled that a provision in Penang’s constitution against party-hopping passed in 2012 (Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution) is valid law.

 

And on March 2 this year, the High Court dismissed the application by the four assemblymen to impose an injunction on the Penang Legislative Assembly and its Speaker from tabling a motion scheduled today (March 6) over the status of their seats, which could be declared vacant.

 

Slamming the four Perikatan Nasional assemblymen, Chow said they have debated their points but failed to understand the crux of the matter.

 

“The four tried to defend their interests. One of them even asked ‘what is the point of doing this when the State Legislative Assembly would be dissolved in the next few months to make way for the state election?’

 

“This is because you do not see the point. It is not about us as wakil rakyat (state assemblymen).

 

“This is about upholding the Penang State Constitution. As state assemblymen, we swore to uphold the Penang State Constitution. It is about political ethics and morality.

 

“That is why we have come to this stage. It pains my heart to bring this motion to the House.

 

“We have journeyed this political road and played our roles as state assemblymen.

 

“We took an oath to defend the State Constitution, to be a leader who upholds political ethics and morality, and to protect the democratic rights of the people,” he said.

 

Chow questioned Dr Afif, who had earlier spoken about his services to the people over the years when he was a state executive council member, if he could have done it without the backing of the government.

 

“You were a member of the (state government). You were not a member of the Opposition.

 

“That was why you could do what you have done. You have benefitted from being in the (state) government, but you betrayed that trust. You chose to betray that trust!

 

“The law is clear. The law was enacted in 2012 and you came in 2013 when the anti-hopping law was already part of the Penang State Constitution.

 

“You came in with your eyes open but you chose to disregard the Penang State Constitution,” he said.

 

Chow added that the state representatives must not be proud and assumed they won due to their capabilities.

 

“Don’t assume that the voters chose you because you are handsome or pretty.

 

“Before contesting for the seats, the candidates embrace the party, but after winning the seats it is all about ‘me’.

 

“In Malaysia, most voters do not even know who the candidates are during the election period. The voters choose their candidates based on the political party the candidates represent,” he said.

 

Earlier, Khaliq Mehtab questioned the need to table the motion when the State Legislative Assembly would be dissolved in the next few months.

 

“We did not betray the voters’ mandate. This motion will destroy the democratic institution and must be withdrawn. Let the people decide our fate,” he argued.

 

Zulkifli lamented about his sacking from his former political party back then. He also cried double standards over the application of Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution.

 

Zolkifly denied that he had hopped parties, while Dr Afif claimed that ‘this is revenge politics’.

 

Opposition Leader Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Nor (BN-Sungai Dua) said he was ‘sandwiched in between’ when debating the motion.

 

“Are we doing this in a hurry? It is just another few more months (before the State Legislative Assembly is dissolved),” he said before he abstained from voting.

 

Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PH-Pantai Jerejak) said the four characters violated the people’s trust, and ‘are now trying their best to justify their acts’.

 

Saifuddin.

 

“These characters have placed a spotlight on ‘opportunistic behaviour’. For the benefit of certain interests, (they) held rundingan-rundingan politik (political consultations) which led to the erosion of public trust,” he said.

 

Among those who took part in the debate were Gooi Hsiao-Leung (PH-Bukit Tengah), Mohd Yusni Mat Piah (PN-Penaga), Muhammad Faiz Fadzil (PH-Permatang Pasir), Jagdeep Singh Deo (PH-Datok Keramat), Daniel Gooi Zi Sen (PH-Pengkalan Kota), M. Satees (PH-Bagan Dalam) and Lee Chun Kit (PH-Pulau Tikus).

 

Zulkifli, Dr Afif, Khaliq Mehtab, and Zolkifly left the House after the motion was passed with a voice vote. Mohd Yusni also walked out in support of the four.

 

Law thanked Zulkifli, Dr Afif, Khaliq Mehtab, and Zolkifly for their service.

 

Outside the august House, some 50 Perikatan Nasional supporters led by Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau met the four to lend their support.

 

Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau (centre) answering the questions by the media.