Selangor Speaker yet to decide on Selat Klang rep’s status
Selangor Speaker Lau Weng San has yet to make a decision on the status of Selat Klang MP Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari.
(NST) – “I do not have anything new at the moment as I am still looking at various documents,” he said in brief reply to the New Straits Times.
Lau was asked to comment on a report published by a Malay daily that a decision on Abdul Rashid is expected to be made this Thursday.
Abdul Rashid is among the seven Bersatu elected representatives whose membership was revoked by the party for declaring their support for the unity government and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Selangor opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali on June 21 submitted a notice to Lau over the status of Abdul Rashid’s party membership and the unexpected vacancy of the Selat Klang state seat.
The notice, said Azmin, was in line with Article LXVA (3) of the Selangor State Constitution 1959, which mandates the speaker to inform the Election Commission (EC) within 21 days upon receiving such notice.
Azmin, who is also Selangor Bersatu chief, also urged the speaker to confirm the vacancy and notify the EC within the stipulated time to facilitate a by-election for the Selat Klang seat.
Five days later, Abdul Rashid met with Lau to explain the situation and issues surrounding his position in Bersatu.
Apart from Abdul Rashid, the other elected representatives whose party membership were revoked by the party included Bukit Gantang member of Parliament Datuk Syed Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, who was the Nenggiri state assemblyman.
On June 19, the Kelantan state assembly declared the Nenggiri state seat vacant after receiving notification of Azizi’s termination from Bersatu.
The EC subsequently set Aug 3 as the nomination day and Aug17 as the polling day for the Nenggiri by-election.
