PETALING JAYA: A notice on the unexpected vacancies of six parliamentary seats held by rogue Bersatu members has been sent and accepted by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s Office, says Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.
The Bersatu parliamentary whip said the notice regarding the Jeli, Gua Musang, Bukit Gantang, Kuala Kangsar, Tanjong Karang and Labuan seats was sent on Thursday (June 20).
Kiandee said he had signed the notice in his capacity as Bersatu’s whip.
“A precedent was set where the Nenggiri seat in the Kelantan State Assembly was declared vacant by its Speaker in accordance with the state laws which are aligned with the Federal Constitution.
“Hence, according to Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, the Speaker must confirm there is an unexpected vacancy within 21 days of receiving the notice,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Kiandee added that the confirmation of the unexpected vacancy had to be respected, with Section 18C of the Societies Act indicating that any decision by a registered political party is “final and conclusive”.
The Beluran MP was also confident that Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul would want to ensure the Legislative body is free of political influence while also upholding the law.
“He has no choice but to declare the six Parliament seats vacant and notify the Election Commission so by-elections may commence,” Kiandee said.
On Wednesday (June 19), the Nenggiri seat held by former Bersatu man Mohd Azizi Abu Naim was declared vacant by Kelantan Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, after the former ceased to be a Bersatu member.
Mohd Azizi, who is also Gua Musang MP, had lost his membership in Bersatu for failing to respond to an official letter requiring him to pledge his loyalty to the party by May 31.
Although he won Nenggiri under the PAS banner, Mohd Azizi holds a Bersatu membership.
Last week, Bersatu declared that he, along with five other MPs and a Selangor state lawmaker, were no longer members after they failed to respond to special letters requiring them to pledge their loyalty to the party by May 31.
Besides Mohd Azizi, the other terminated elected reps are Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Syed Abdul Fasal, Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang) and Selat Klang assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari.
This comes after Bersatu successfully amended its constitution where party members will automatically cease to be members if they go against the party’s decisions, and its elected representatives must vacate their seats.
