Former Bertam assemblyman Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq said their removal from the Penang state assembly was expected as soon as the motion was tabled considering the solid majority held by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the legislative assembly.
“Although this is heartbreaking for us, we have to accept it,” he told reporters at a press conference outside the state assembly building here.
“But we (PN) will come back bigger and stronger.”
Khaliq, Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), and Zolkifly Lazim (Teluk Bahang) were booted from the state assembly after the House approved a motion to vacate their seats for party hopping.
The four had won their seats in the 14th general election (GE14) on a Pakatan Harapan ticket.
They were all deemed to have “lost” their seats after Bersatu left PH – following the Sheraton Move in February 2020 – based on the anti-hopping provision contained in Article 14A of the state constitution.
There will be no by-elections to fill the four vacated seats as the state polls are due to take place within the next four months.
Khaliq claimed that the state’s anti-hopping enactment was not in line with the federal anti-hopping law, calling for the former to be amended in line with the one approved by Parliament.
“What will happen to the opposition’s voice (in the state assembly) now? I pity my friend from Penaga (Yusni Mat Piah) who is now the sole PN representative,” he said.
Previously, Afif told FMT that the state constitution did not give the state assembly Speaker the power to declare seats vacant and was also vague on the definition of party-hopping.
The federal anti-hopping law does not bar political parties or coalitions from shifting support as a bloc and it also exempts MPs who have been sacked by their party from having to vacate their seat.
Khaliq also said he was “shocked” that Umno’s Sungai Dua assemblyman Yusoff Mohd Noor remains the opposition leader in Penang, since both Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH were partners in the federal government. Yusoff has been the state opposition leader since 2018.
“It is an odd scenario where they (BN and PH) are together at the federal level but an Umno assemblyman is still the state opposition leader
“Although I have been given the mandate to lead the opposition here, sadly, this mandate cannot be realised,” said Khaliq, who was appointed the Penang opposition leader by PN just last week.
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