KOTA KINABALU: It is not true that the Sabah legislative assembly risks automatic dissolution if it does not sit before Aug 1, says Sabah state assembly speaker Kadzim M Yahya in refuting claims made by a former deputy chief minister yesterday.
Kadzim said that although Article 21 (1) of the Sabah constitution states that the state assembly must convene within six months from the last sitting, Section 15 (1) (a) of the Emergency Ordinance (Essential Powers) 2021 however gives exemption from this provision.
“Therefore, the public is urged not to be confused although the state assembly has not held a meeting since the 2021 state budget last December,” he said in a statement here today.
“Nonetheless, the DUN is ready to hold a sitting at any time after the state government fixes a date to do so.”
Former Sabah deputy chief minister Wilfred Madius Tangau yesterday urged the state government to reconvene the DUN before the emergency ends at midnight on Aug 1 to avoid automatic dissolution.
Making the call to chief minister Hajiji Noor, Tangau said that since the state assembly was last adjourned on Dec 23, 2020, it had passed the six-month interval between one legislative session and another on June 23 this year.
He said the emergency currently avoids automatic dissolution but the clock will resume after Aug 1.
“By convening the state assembly after Aug 1, the state government risks exposing the state to another snap election since the last one was held in September 2020.
“If anyone successfully seeks a court declaration that the state assembly has automatically dissolved on Aug 2, Sabahans may be exposed to a Covid-19 super-spreader event,” Tangau said.
He was apparently referring to the last Sabah polls that has been blamed for an increase in Covid-19 cases.
Lawyer Roger Chin said the Emergency Ordinance had suspended the operation of the state constitution.
It could be suspended, based on Article 150 (7) of the Federal Constitution, for a further six months after the emergency expires on Aug 1.
“It is logical that the time interval (the six months between sittings of the state assembly) only begins to run after Aug 1, or even after January 2022, taking into account the additional six-month validity of the Emergency Ordinance,” he said.
Chin said that it should also be noted that Article 21 (1) of the Sabah state constitution does not provide for an automatic dissolution of the state assembly if more than six months elapses between sittings.
“Automatic dissolution is only expressly provided upon the expiry of five years from the date of its first sitting, under Article 21 (3) of the state constitution.
“Although any interested party is free to go to the courts to seek a declaration on this issue, it should be remembered that Article 150 (8) of the Federal Constitution excludes the jurisdiction of the court to decide on the validity of the Emergency Order made during an emergency.
“And a declaration sought could be interpreted as an indirect challenge to the validity of the Emergency Order,” he said. - FMT
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