KOTA KINABALU: Melalap assemblyman Datuk Peter Anthony still has 14 days to exhaust all legal avenues before he automatically loses his seat, says state Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya.
This comes after the Court of Appeal upheld Peter’s conviction and sentence for falsifying documents on Tuesday (March 4).
The Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (PKDM) leader will now serve a three-year jail sentence at the Kajang Prison.
Kadzim said this is accordance with Article 17(1)(e) of the state Constitution where any assemblyman sentenced to a year’s jail or more, or fined RM2,000 or more will lose his position as a state assemblyman.
However, this has to be read together with other Articles and laws under the Constitution relating to this matter, he said in a press conference on Wednesday (March 5).
“With that, the Melalap assemblyman still has 14 days to exhaust all legal avenues before his seat is automatically vacated,” he said.
“So it depends on his lawyers on the next course of action,” said Kadzim.
Asked if there would be a by-election if the seat is vacated, the state Speaker said there was no need as the state election is going to be held this year.
