KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) has been notified that the Petaling Jaya parliamentary seat is vacant following the resignation of Lee Chean Chung as MP, says Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Ramli Mohd Nor.
"The Petaling Jaya MP sent a letter to the Speaker on Oct 2 to vacate his membership as a Member of Parliament," he told the august House on Monday (Oct 5).
"The Speaker has informed the EC of the vacancy in the seat in accordance with Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution."
Lee announced his resignation on Friday (Oct 2), saying it took effect that day and that he would submit his resignation from PKR on Monday.
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He said he received the party's decision to suspend his membership for three years on Wednesday (Sept 30).
Lee also said he met Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul on Thursday (Oct 1) to inform him of the matter.
Under Article 54(1), a seat that falls vacant within two years of Parliament's automatic dissolution is not filled through a by-election unless the Speaker informs the commission that the majority party's numbers in the House are affected.
Lee is the fourth PKR lawmaker to recently quit as an MP, after Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa) and Wong Chen (Subang).
