Sodomy II: Penang Umno ready for Permatang Pauh by-election since March last year

PETALING JAYA: Penang Umno has been readying itself for a by-election in the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary constituency since March last year, when the Court of Appeal sentenced MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to five years' jail on for sodomy.

Following the Federal Court's verdict to uphold the Court of Appeal's decision on Tuesday, Penang Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said they would continue to prepare its election machinery ahead of the expected by-election.

Article 48 of the Federal Constitution states that an MP will be stripped of the post if he or she is sentenced to a jail term of more than a year, or a fine exceeding RM2,000.

"We will now have to wait for the official statement regarding the vacancy of the seat before we can take the next step," he said.

Permatang Pauh has been Anwar's stronghold since 1982, when he was still in Barisan Nasional.

He lost the seat in 1999 when he was jailed for his first sodomy charge.

The seat was contested by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the subsequent by-election, which she held until 2008 before making way for Anwar when he made his political comeback after imprisonment.

Anwar retained the seat in the 13th General Election in 2013 with a 11,721 majority over BN's Mazlan Ismail and independent candidate Abdullah Zawawi Samsudin.