Malaysia’s speaker of parliament to rule on status of ex-Sabah Bersatu MPs

Mr Kiandee stressed that the four lawmakers were members of Bersatu when they contested the Nov 19 general election.

However, the four were part of a group – which includes Sabah’s Chief Minister Hajiji Noor – who quit the party led by Mr Muhyiddin Yassin earlier in December.

Mr Hajiji, in a statement on Dec 10, said that the party members have made the “unanimous decision” to leave Bersatu after they had considered the country’s political landscape as well as the King’s decree for the formation of a unity government under Mr Anwar. 

Mr Kiandee, in a Facebook statement on Thursday, said that the four lawmakers are no longer Bersatu members, and that they have been notified of that development through a letter dated Dec 21.

“We have also requested the Speaker of Parliament for this (cessation) to be informed to the Election Commission in 21 days from the date the written notice was received so that the election process can be facilitated to fill the vacancies,” wrote Mr Kiandee. 

The vacancies will then have to be filled within 60 days from the date the Election Commission receives the notification from Mr Johari.

The Malaysian Insight had previously reported that Mr Armizan – who is now a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs – had said that the GRS had provisions in its constitution for individuals to be direct members.

He also stressed that he had joined GRS as a “direct member” in October before the general election, and thus, his position as a Member of Parliament was not affected by Malaysia’s anti-hopping law.

The anti-hopping law – a constitutional amendment which came into force on Oct 5 – was first mooted as a bipartisan response to the “Sheraton Move” in 2020 which saw the collapse of the then-Pakatan Harapan government.

At the first parliament session on Dec 19, Mr Anwar secured a vote of confidence as the country’s top leader, confirming the legitimacy of his leadership and the unity government he leads. The vote of confidence was done via a voice vote only, with no call for a bloc vote.