Sebatik rep withdraws anti-defection oath via SD

 

Sebatik assemblyperson Hassan A Gani Pg Amir has withdrawn a pre-signed letter which stated that he would resign from office if he quits Warisan.

He did this by sending a statutory declaration to Sabah Speaker Kadzim Yahya earlier today.

Yesterday, Hassan (above) claimed that the anti-defection oath was made under duress, thus invalid.

Kadzim was quoted by FMT as confirming that Hassan came to submit the statutory declaration to withdraw the pre-signed resignation letter this morning.

The Sebatik MP expressed his intentions to remain as an assemblyperson, the speaker added.

Kadzim said he would need to discuss the legal issue with the Sabah attorney-general tomorrow before making a decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, Warisan secretary-general Loretto Padua said he had submitted Hassan's pre-signed resignation letter to Kadzim.

"We submitted the letter this afternoon," he said when contacted.

Warisan is also expected to submit the letter to state governor Juhar Mahiruddin and the Election Commission (EC).

"He can claim anything. It's an afterthought. The court is the one that will decide if it (the letter) is valid or not.

"It has been proven that he was the one who took the oath and signed the letter. There was a video showing that. So, what else can we do?" Loretto said.

Last week, Hassan defected from Warisan and pledged his support for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). He also said he supports the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor. 

In doing so, he accused Warisan of giving priority to politics over the wellbeing of the people.

GRS is a coalition comprising Perikatan Nasional, BN and PBS. They currently have the support of 48 assemblypersons out of 79.

Since his defection, a video was circulated online that purportedly shows Hassan swearing that if he is elected as assemblyperson, he will remain in Warisan at least until the dissolution of the state assembly. - Mkini