Sarawak Speaker Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar said a by-election need not be held if it does not affect the composition of the house and if it falls within two years of the dissolution of the assembly, which is in June next year.
Asfia said the vacancy does not affect the numerical strength of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which has two-thirds majority in the 82-member assembly.
“Article 21(5) of the Sarawak State Constitution states that ‘if a casual vacancy is established on a date within two years of the date the Dewan Undangan Negeri shall stand dissolved, such casual vacancy shall not be filled unless the Speaker notifies the Election Commission in writing that the numerical strength of the party that constitutes a majority of all the members of the Dewan Undangan Negeri is being affected by such vacancy, in which event such vacancy shall be filled within sixty days from the date of the receipt of that notification’,” he said.
Asfia also said the state assembly will request Ting to reimburse the salary and remuneration he received as the Pujut assemblyman.
Since Ting has been disqualified, he said, “he would never have been a lawfully elected representative” of Pujut.
“As such, he should not receive any salary and reimbursement. Once we have a copy of the Federal Court’s ruling, we will write to him asking for reimbursement,” he told a press conference here today.
An assemblyman’s remuneration can reach up to RM20,000 a month in addition to allowances, FMT learnt.
“This is not a question of politics. It is a question of patriotism.
“Ting was given an opportunity to defend himself. It was a simple question with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer whether he became an Australian citizen and he avoided answering the question,” he said.
This morning, the Federal Court ruled that the state assembly has the power to disqualify Ting.
“Article 19 of the Sarawak Constitution and Article 72 of the Federal Constitution exclude the court from questioning the decision of the house,” Federal Court judge Abdul Rahman Sebli, who delivered the ruling, said in allowing the appeal of the speaker and two others against the decision of the High Court and Court of Appeal to overturn the state assembly’s decision to disqualify Ting.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister James Jemut Masing urged the relevant authorities to look into Ting’s alleged dual citizenship. He said they should see whether action could be taken against him.
Sarawak tourism minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said Malaysian law does not permit dual citizenship.
“As much as I sympathise with Ting, he should be aware of it when he applied for Australian citizenship.
“He did not inform the Malaysian government about his dual citizenship and had chosen to keep silent about it.
“He opted to renounce his Australian citizenship at the eleventh hour before he contested in the 2016 state election after finding out that he cannot hold dual citizenship,” he said.
Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen described the Federal Court’s decision as “disappointing”.
“The only consolation is that of the panel of nine judges, two – the chief justice and chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak – decided in favour of Ting,” he said in a statement.