Warisan pursues reps who defected for contract breach

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan is taking legal action against 11 assemblymen who defected after the September 2020 snap state election, citing a “breach of contract,” according to party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

In an effort to uphold their agreement to vacate their seats upon defecting from the party, Parti Warisan is currently pursuing the legal process to have the seats declared vacant.

This decision comes after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin pay RM10mil for breaching an election bond with PKR when she defected from the party last year. Zuraida is currently appealing the court’s decision.

“After studying the judge’s decision on Zuraida’s case, we found similarities with our own. Our assemblymen agreed to vacate their seats upon leaving the party. This is about a breach of agreement, not necessarily about money,” Shafie explained to reporters after meeting with tenants facing eviction by a state agency at the Tanjung Aru low-cost flats.

Despite the state assembly not accepting the pre-signed letters of resignation, Parti Warisan intends to continue pursuing the matter in court.

During their candidacy for Warisan in the previous election, these assemblymen signed a contract agreeing to vacate their seats if they defected. This agreement included the signing of undated, pre-signed resignation letters.

However, when the assemblymen later refused to vacate their seats, the pre-signed letters were rejected by the state assembly Speaker.

During the September 26, 2020 election, Parti Warisan lost 11 out of the 23 seats it had won, as representatives defected to parties under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

It began with Sebatik assemblyman Hassan Amir Gani defecting from Parti Warisan on February 26, 2021.

Furthermore, in June 2022, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Justice Wong Siong Tung declared the undated and unsigned resignation letters to be unlawful.

Justice Wong emphasized the importance of elected representatives being able to act independently, free from legal constraints imposed by their party or the electorate.

In Zuraida’s case, Justice Akhtar Tahir ruled that the bond she signed on April 25, 2018, was a valid and binding contract.