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Say goodbye, Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Telok Bahang), on March 6, 2023.
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Penang state assembly removes 4 Bersatu reps for party hopping
The four Bersatu assemblymen defected to Perikatan Nasional after winning their seats under Pakatan Harapan in GE14.
Dineskumar Ragu
06 Mar 2023, 1:00pm
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state legislative assembly has approved a motion to vacate the seats of four Bersatu assemblymen for party hopping.
The motion was tabled by the state’s deputy chief minister Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman.
Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin, Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Teluk Bahang) won their seats in the 14th general election (GE14) on a Pakatan Harapan ticket.
They were all deemed to have “lost” their seats after Bersatu left PH – following the Sheraton Move in February 2020 – based on the anti-hopping provision contained in Article 14A of the state constitution.
Article 14A states that an assemblyman shall vacate his seat if having been elected as a candidate of a political party, he resigns or is expelled from a party or having been elected otherwise than as a candidate of a political party, he joins a political party.
Penang state legislative assembly Speaker Law Choo Kiang had earlier brought forward the motion to be the first item on the agenda on the first day of the state assembly sitting.
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Penang reps fail to stop motion to vacate state assembly seats
High Court says it has no power to interfere with the internal management of Parliament or any state legislative assembly.
V Anbalagan – 02 Mar 2023, 3:08pm
PETALING JAYA: The Penang High Court has denied four assemblyman an interim injunction to stop the state’s legislative assembly from tabling a motion to vacate their seats.
Judicial commissioner Azizan Arshad said the courts have no power to interfere with the internal management of Parliament or any state legislative assembly.
“The court must always give recognition to the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said.
Azizan, who delivered his ruling through email to the lawyers of the parties in the suit, said the immunity arose from a long-standing doctrine which separates the functions of the three principal organs of government – the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.
He said interference by the court in the affairs of the executive or the legislature would “affect the freedom of the three to act according to their respective jurisdictions” and give rise to “a clash which will destroy the doctrine”.
Azizan said the plaintiffs – Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Telok Bahang) – had failed to show that an Erinford injunction ought to be granted in their favour.
“The court hereby dismisses the plaintiffs’ application,” he said.
The motion to vacate the seats is expected to be tabled before the state assembly on March 6.
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FMT
4 Bersatu reps fail in bid to challenge Penang anti-hopping law
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat says the Federal Court had decided in August that the state assembly can enact laws to determine the qualification of its members.
Ho Kit Yen and Predeep Nambiar –
August 3, 2022 2:14 PM
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has declared that an anti-hopping enactment passed by the Penang legislative assembly in 2012 is constitutional.
December 16, 2022 12:58 PM
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has rejected a bid by four Penang Bersatu assemblymen to commence a constitutional challenge on the state’s anti-hopping enactment.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the leave application after hearing submissions from lawyers DP Naban, representing the four assemblymen, and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who appeared for the state government.
The court made no order on costs.
Tengku Maimun said the Federal Court had in August decided that the state assembly was entitled to enact laws to determine the qualification of its members.
In that decision, the apex court upheld the validity of Article 14A of the Penang constitution, which it said was consistent with Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.
It also said the Federal Constitution did not guarantee elected assemblymen any fundamental right to switch allegiances from one political party to another.
The four Bersatu assemblymen – Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Telok Bahang) – had previously filed a suit to challenge a motion introduced by the state assembly’s speaker during its meeting in October 2020, seeking to vacate their seats so that by-elections could be held.
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The High Court then referred the case to the Federal Court to determine constitutional questions relating to Penang’s anti-hopping enactment.
One month after the Federal Court ruling in August, the four filed a fresh bid to challenge the enactment, claiming that the state assembly was not competent to pass the law.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/16/4-bersatu-reps-fail-in-bid-to-challenge-penang-anti-hopping-law/
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weehingthong 