By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Feb 11: There will be no by-election for the Pujut seat even though the Federal Court has disqualified DAP Dr Ting Tiong Choon today.
State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar said although the seat is now vacant, there will be no by-election as 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 DUN shall stand dissolved, the vacant seat 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 DUN is being affected by such vacancy, in which event such vacancy shall be filled within 60 days from the date of the receipt of that notification’.
“Any notification of the vacancy from today’s date is within the two years of the date the DUN shall stand dissolved in June 2021.
“So I will not write to the Election Commission. Furthermore, the vacancy does not effect the numerical strength of the party that constitutes a majority of all the members of the DUN where Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has two-thirds majority,” Mohd Asfia affirmed.
Today, a nine-member Federal Court bench in Putrajaya ruled in favour of the Sarawak DUN and Mohd Asfia in a seven-to-two majority decision, resulting in Dr Ting losing his representation in DUN and thus, his Pujut seat. — DayakDaily
