Speaker: EC notified of Port Klang seat vacancy

0

SHAH ALAM: Selangor State Assembly Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim said yesterday he had sent a notice to the Election Commission (EC) informing the EC of the vacancy of the Port Klang state seat held by Badrul Hisham Abdullah.

The state EC office in Shah Alam had acknowledged the notice and the declaration of the seat’s vacancy, he told a press conference.

With the declaration, Badrul Hisham was no longer eligible to attend the state assembly sitting on Monday because he is no longer an assemblyman, he said.

“As far as I am concerned, the declaration of seat vacancy has been done. He is no more a Yang Berhormat, (he is) now a Yang Berbahagia. Only a Yang Berhormat is allowed to enter the chamber,” he added.

When asked how the two-thirds majority of the assembly would be determined, with only 55 seats out the total 56 state assembly seats occupied, Teng said it would still be calculated based on the total number of seats, which is 56.

The Selangor PKR government, which commands 35 seats, needs two more votes to get the 37 votes required for a two-third majority.

On the possibility of Badrul Hisham challenging the declaration in court, Teng said, “So be it.”

Asked on news reports that the declaration was politically-motivated, he said it was his own decision as the speaker and not by Pakatan.

Teng also said the EC should acknowledge that the state constitution unequivocally stipulated that the speaker was the authority in deciding the vacancy of a seat.

He said it was the duty of the EC to conduct a by-election within 60 days from the day a seat was declared vacant, which, in Badrul Hisham’s case, was on Jan 16.

Teng said: “It is not the business of the EC to decide on behalf of the speaker to dispute the declaration made by the speaker.”

He said there was a difference in determining the vacancy of seats in parliament and the Selangor state assembly where under Article 52(1) of the Federal Constitution, if a member of parliament was absent without leave from every sitting of the House for a period of six months, the House might declare his or her seat vacant.

However, he said, Article 69 of the State Constitution states that if a member was absent without leave for every sitting thereof for a period of six months, his or her seat should be declared vacant by the speaker, said Teng.

On claims by BN assemblymen that they had yet to receive the draft amendment to the state constitution, which will be table at the Monday sitting, Teng said the state assembly office was facing time constraints as it only received the amendment last Wednesday.

However, he said all state assemblymen were informed yesterday to collect their copies at the state assembly office.

Teng also rebutted Badrul Hisham’s claim that he attended the opening ceremony of the state assembly on Nov 8 last year and thus the state assemblyman was not absent without leave for a period of six months.

Teng said there was no opening ceremony of the state assembly on Nov 8 because it had taken place on April 12 last year, while the sitting in November was for the annual budget session where no opening ceremony was held.

Badrul Hisham himself admitted that he was absent for the whole sitting from Nov 8 to 15 last year in his letter that reached Teng’s office on Dec 10, he said.

The state assembly will convene on Monday to amend Article 52 of the state constitution to return the power of the Sultan and Menteri Besar in the appointment of the State Secretary, State Legal Advisor and the State Financial Officer. — Bernama