KOTA KINABALU: The dissolution of the Sabah Legislative Assembly on Monday (Oct 6) was rushed, likely driven by confusion over when its current term would automatically end, claims Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president said Article 21(3) of the Sabah Constitution clearly states that the State Assembly "shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for five years from the date of its first sitting and shall stand dissolved," – with the key phrase being "first sitting."
"The Speaker was correct in announcing that the last day of this assembly's term falls on Nov 11, 2025, because the first sitting was held on Nov 12, 2020," said Yong in a statement on Monday (Oct 6).
Yong, who served as chief minister from 1996 to 1998, added that a gazette dated Oct 2 calling for a Special Sitting should not affect the constitutional calculation as it was issued under Standing Order No. 6 – a provision meant only for emergency sittings when a previous session of the same assembly has been adjourned.
"It is clear that Standing Order No. 6 was not applicable in October 2020 as there was no previous sitting. The 15th assembly had already been replaced by the 16th after the state election," he said.
He explained that the correct provision for convening the first sitting of a new assembly is Standing Order No. 15, which governs inaugural sittings, preceded by Standing Order No. 14 on the swearing-in of members.
Yong said the timing of the dissolution was likely to prevent any legal dispute over the expiry date of the assembly's five-year term, while also ensuring an audience with the Yang di-Pertua Negeri before he departs for the Conference of Rulers in Kuala Lumpur.
