Selat Klang assemblyman retains seat
Selangor Speaker Lau Weng San today announced that there is no vacancy in the Selat Klang state seat.
(NST) – In a statement today, Lau said he is “not persuaded that there are sufficient evidence to prove a casual vacancy” at the state constituency which is being held by Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari.
This decision follows an examination of the circumstances surrounding the termination of Rashid’s membership in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), which was deemed a constructive expulsion under Article LXVA 2(c) of the Selangor State Constitution.
Lau, referencing a notice and evidence from the Hulu Klang state assemblyman, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, found that the burden of proof required to establish a casual vacancy was not met.
This decision is rooted in the interpretation of Article LXVA of the Selangor State Constitution, which outlines the conditions under which a member of the Legislative Assembly ceases to hold their seat.
“It is quite certain that the Speaker, under the State Constitution, has to exercise due diligence and act quasi-inquisitorial to establish the fact to ascertain if a casual vacancy has occurred as stipulated under Article LXVA(1) and (2).
“Such notice also needs to be corroborated by other sources of evidence.”
He also said under Bersatu’s constitution, ‘cessation of membership’ and ‘sacking’ are under the same clause without distinguishing between the two, arguing that this implied the two words needed to be read together and not separately.
He made comparisons with DAP’s constitution, which he said separately addressed sackings and cessation of memberships.
Lau said a DAP member would only be sacked if the party’s disciplinary board decided to do so after holding disciplinary proceedings, but an elected representative immediately ceased to be a member once they went against the party.
“However, the recent amendments to Bersatu’s constitution, which were approved by the Registrar of Societies on April 1, 2024, introduced new provisions under Articles 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6 that elaborate on the cessation of membership due to non-compliance with party directives.
“In the case of Rashid, it was established that the amendments to Bersatu’s constitution could not be applied retrospectively to his actions before April 1.
“His support for the leadership of Sungai Tua assemblyman (Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari), which was cited as a basis for his expulsion, occurred before these amendments took legal effect.”
Previously, Rashid was among the seven Bersatu elected representatives whose membership were revoked by the party for declaring their support for the unity government.
He was dismissed from Bersatu after expressing support for Amirudin’s leadership.
This was followed by the submission of a notice declaring the vacancy of the seat on 21 June by Azmin, who gave Lau 21 days to determine the status of the Selat Klang state seat.
