Bersatu: Motion to oust 4 Penang PN reps should not apply to us

Razali Idris

Malaysiakini : The motion in the Penang state legislative assembly to vacate the seats of four Perikatan Nasional representatives should not apply to Bersatu assemblypersons as they did not jump parties, a party leader has said.

According to Bersatu information chief Senator Razali Idris, the representatives were elected in the 2018 general election as part of Bersatu and remain in the party to date.

"The Penang legislative assembly under Pakatan Harapan-BN will only abuse its majority power to remove legally elected assemblypersons, without a valid reason, as they want to weaken Bersatu before the upcoming state Penang state election," he said in a statement today.

Razali (above) was responding to the statement by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow that the state legislative assembly would table the motion to vacate the seats of four PN representatives, namely Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam), and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang), today.

Penang state legislative assembly

Chow said this following a Federal Court ruling that Article 14A in the Penang constitution against party-hopping passed in 2012 is valid and consistent with the Federal Constitution.

The four won their seats on a Pakatan Harapan ticket in the 14th general election in May 2018. Their status as assemblypersons is now in dispute after the four left Harapan.

Regardless, Afif said that the four representatives who failed to stop the tabling of the motion to vacate their seats will still attend the state legislative assembly sitting today.

The four include two former PKR assemblypersons, whom Razali claimed were removed from the party as PKR president Anwar Ibrahim "did not like them".

Razali noted that Bersatu had voted in favour of the anti-hopping law, and does not believe in robbing the people of their right to vote for the representative of their choice.