Photo: Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: There is no necessity for the four Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) MPs to vacate the seats they won in the 15th General Election (GE15), says Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) said this was because they all contested on a GRS ticket and not Bersatu.
Armizan, who is also Papar MP, was responding to a statement by Bersatu which had sent a notice to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker seeking to vacate four parliamentary seats won on the GRS ticket in GE15.
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Bersatu vice president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee said the party was making the request in line with the anti-party hopping law provided for under Article 49(A) (3) of the Federal Constitution.
In a statement on Thursday (Dec 29), Kiandee said the four were members of Bersatu and contested the Nov 19 general election using the GRS logo.
Armizan said it was Kiandee’s right to express his views, but the fact was that there was no question of the GRS MPs defecting.
“I understand his (Kiandee) disappointment and frustration over not being picked as a GRS candidate in GE15.
“But the fact is the difference between our status and his in the election.
“We are GRS members. We contested on the GRS ticket, so the question of crossing the floor does not arise,” he said when contacted on Thursday.
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Armizan added that he won the Papar seat with support from constituents in the area, including people from various parties as well as those who did not belong to any party.
“Numerous people helped in my campaign,” he said, adding that he also received support through cooperation with Barisan Nasional, his coalition's partner in the Sabah government, as well as GRS components.
He said other parties also threw their support behind him such as the Datuk Peter Anthony-led Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia, PAS, Parti Cinta Sabah led by Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“I was elected Papar MP by the voters, not by a new Malaya hero in Sabah,” he said, referring to Kiandee who retained his east coast Beluran seat on a Perikatan Nasional ticket.
Kiandee decided to contest the seat under the Perikatan logo after being dropped by GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor in GE15.
Besides Armizan, the other GRS MPs mentioned in Bersatu's statement are Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Datuk Matbali Musah (Sipitang) and Datuk Jonathan Yassin (Ranau).
