KOTA KINABALU: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is confident that its MPs will not be affected by the anti-hopping law, its secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun (pic) says.
He said GRS was fully aware of the anti-hopping law which came into effect on Oct 5 before Parliament was dissolved to make way for GE15.
“We will inform the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, if and when necessary, of our position. But we are confident our MPs will not be affected by the anti-hop law,” Masidi said yesterday.It comes amid a debate whether the four GRS MPs had run afoul of the anti-hopping law after Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor announced that the Sabah chapter of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) was leaving the party.
The MPs are Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Datuk Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi).
Sabah Bersatu is a member of GRS, along with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Sabah Star, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and Usno.
In GE15, Sabah Bersatu via GRS, had a separate electoral pact with Sabah Barisan Nasional where they shared the 25 parliamentary seats in the state to avoid contesting each other.
This was against Bersatu’s stand at national level, where the party is a member Perikatan Nasional coalition and had clashed with Barisan as well as Pakatan Harapan.
In the just-concluded election, GRS won six seats – four by Bersatu, one each by PBS (Tawau) and Sabah Star (Keningau).
A legal expert also shared Masidi’s views, saying that the four GRS MPs would not lose their seats as they contested as “GRS direct members”.
Lawyer Tengku Datuk Fuad Ahmad said the lawmakers’ “association” with Bersatu ended in early October and GRS was the only political party they were with when they filed their nomination for GE15.
He argued there was no breach of the anti-hopping law under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution as they contested as “GRS direct” members, and not Bersatu, which they already left.
“Therefore, they are not be subjected to the anti-hopping law,” said Fuad, a constitutional lawyer, who is also legal adviser to the state government.
It is still not clear whether the four MPs had officially quit Bersatu prior to GE15 or at the time Hajiji announced that they were leaving en bloc.
If they had not quit Bersatu, some in the legal circles said the party would not be able to take action against them under the anti-hopping law.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said is waiting for an official report to be submitted by the Attorney General’s Chambers on the status of the four GRS MPs.
She pointed to Article 49A of the Federal Constitution on anti-party hopping where the Dewan Rakyat Speaker would have 21 days to decide after receiving an official notification.
“But the amendments in the Constitution (Amendment) Act (No.3) 2022 (Act A1663) place several conditions for making a determination.
“So it is beyond my jurisdiction to comment. But I am waiting for a report and legal opinion from the Attorney General,” she told reporters after closing the Human Rights Day 2022 forum yesterday.
