D-Day for 4 Penang Bersatu reps

 

(From left) Dr Afif Bahardin, Zulkifli Ibrahim, Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq and Zolkifly Lazim are set to lose their seats.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state assembly is set to give four Bersatu assemblymen the boot by approving a motion to vacate their seats.

The four – Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Telok Bahang) – won their seats on a Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket in the 14th general election (GE14) in May 2018.

Afif and Zulkifli, who were PKR members, subsequently joined Bersatu. Khaliq and Zolkifly have been with Bersatu throughout.

They were all deemed to have “lost” their seats after Bersatu left PH – following the Sheraton Move in February 2020 – based on the state’s anti-hopping provision contained in Article 14A of the state’s constitution.

According to the state assembly’s order of business, a motion to vacate the four seats will be tabled at the next assembly sitting.

The letter from deputy chief minister Zakiyuddin Rahman to the Penang assembly informing it of the motion.

Letters have also been sent to the four assemblymen informing them of the motion that will be tabled by deputy chief minister Zakiyuddin Rahman.

The move to unseat them had been mooted in October 2020 but stalled after they filed an injunction to stop the assembly from doing so.

On Thursday, the High Court quashed their application to stop the motion, saying it had no power to interfere in the management of the state assembly.

The move to have the four vacate their seats comes ahead of the state election, which must take place within the next four months. Presently, PH holds 33 of the 40 seats in the state assembly.

Should the motion be approved, PAS’ Penaga assemblyman, Yusni Mat Piah, will be the sole opposition representative in the state assembly. Barisan Nasional (BN) holds the two remaining seats but are no longer considered the opposition.

‘Prepare for backlash’

Khaliq has hit out at the attempt to vacate his and Zolkifly’s seats, saying they never defected.

“What they are doing is wrong. The state constitution says a member who has switched parties will have his seat vacated. We never switched parties,” Khaliq told FMT.

“Furthermore, the state constitution is incongruent with the anti-party hopping laws at the federal level. What constitutes party hopping at the Penang assembly remains vague and contestable.

“They are trying to tarnish our image. But the backlash is going to be huge, especially in the Malay-dominated areas (during the upcoming state election).”

Yesterday, Perikatan Nasional (PN) named Khaliq as the new state opposition leader. - FMT