Four Sabah GRS MPs will not lose seats after quitting Bersatu

ASYIKIN ASMIN
ASYIKIN ASMIN
11 Dec 2022 07:10pm
Constitutional Lawyer Datuk Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad
Constitutional Lawyer Datuk Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad
A
A
A
KOTA KINABALU - The four Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) MPs who quit Bersatu will not lose their seats won in the 15th general elections (GE15), said Constitutional lawyer Datuk Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad.

He said this is because they did not violate Article 49A of the Federal Constitution,

"In response to former Penampang MP Datuk Darell Leiking's recent statement, four GRS MPs will not lose their seats for leaving Bersatu.

"This is because the four MPs ran as GRS candidates in GE15, not Perikatan Nasional (PN) or Bersatu candidates.

"Therefore, there is no violation under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution since the four MPs were elected under the GRS," he said in a statement today.

Priot to that, Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also said in his statement on Sunday that the position of the four Bersatu MPs who contested using the GRS logo in GE15 will be determined based on the anti-hopping laws under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution.

The four MPs involved are Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar) and Datuk Jonathan Yassin (Ranau).

Meanwhile, Tengku Fuad said the decision of 15 Bersatu state assemblyman to leave the party and automatically become GRS members does not affect the position of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as the Sabah Chief Minister.

"This is because GRS-BN cooperation remains with 46 state assemblyman in addition to the confidence and commitment given by seven Pakatan Harapan (PH) ADUN to support him as chief minister.

"It is also understood that three Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) state assemblyman and one independent state assemblyman remain in support of the GRS-BN government.

"Based on that amount, Hajiji clearly has the support of the majority of 57 state assemblyman out of 79 state assemblyman, so he continues to get support in the assemblyman in accordance with Article 6(3) of the Sabah Constitution," he said.