KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Assembly is verifying if Datuk Peter Anthony's lawyers filed an appeal within a two-week window before determining if the seat should be declared vacant.
Sabah Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya confirmed that the Melalap assemblyman's legal team had informed them of a final appeal in a letter.
"We have requested formal notification from the lawyers.
"If the filing date is on or before March 18, he is still within the 14-day period.
"However, if it was filed after the deadline, the seat will be automatically vacated," Kadzim said during a breaking of fast event with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Tuaran on Saturday (March 22).
The Melalap seat is set to be vacated following Anthony's jail sentence for falsifying documents on March 4.
Under Article 17(1)(e) of the Sabah State Constitution, any assemblyman sentenced to a year's imprisonment or fined RM2,000 or more automatically loses their seat.
Anthony, a former state infrastructure development minister, has filed a review of the Court of Appeal's decision to uphold his three-year jail sentence and RM50,000 fine for falsifying documents related to a maintenance and service contract at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) 11 years ago.
In earlier reports, Kadzim said no by-election would be required if the State Assembly is due to be dissolved within two years.
The current term is set to expire in October this year.
