Sabah Speaker declares Sindumin seat as not vacant

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Speaker Datuk Kadzim Yahya has declared that the Sindumin seat is not vacant after its assemblyman Datuk Yusof Yakob denied he had pre-signed a letter of resignation to vacate the seat submitted by a law firm on Oct 15.

He said that Dr Yusof on Oct 16 also submitted a statutory declaration denying that he had signed the letter.

Kadzim said that Dr Yusof was therefore still a member of the legislative assembly and had only left Parti Warisan Sabah.

Outlining the sequence of events, Kadzim said that Dr Yusof, after leaving Warisan, had called him for a meeting and they met on Oct 11.

At the meeting, Dr Yusof submitted a statutory declaration revoking all pledges he made prior to the 16th Sabah state election. Dr Yusof also revoked his pre-election pledge to vacate the Sindumin seat if he left Warisan.

Subsequently on Oct 15, Kadzim said he received a letter from a legal firm claiming that they were appointed by Dr Yusof.

The law firm also attached a letter of resignation dated Oct 8 purportedly signed by Dr Yusof, said Kadzim.

However, Dr Yusof submitted a fresh affidavit dated Oct 16, declaring, among others, that he had never signed the purported resignation letter submitted by the legal firm.

Dr Yusof remains an independent friendly to the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government and the Federal Government.