KUALA LUMPUR: The four Sabah Bersatu members of parliament (MPs) who quit the party must vacate their seats in the Dewan Rakyat if their resignations are accepted, said former Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Wan Junaidi said the anti-hopping law, which was drafted by a parliamentary committee he chaired, would require by-elections to be held.
The four newly-elected MPs are Armizan Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akhbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Matbali Musah (Sipitang).
Wan Junaidi explained that it did not matter whether the four MPs ran on a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ticket or represented another coalition. Their departure from their party was the only relevant factor, he said.
He also dismissed the notion that Sabah Bersatu was a separate entity from Bersatu. According to him, the Registrar of Societies would not have approved such an application.
"I designed the law to prohibit such things from happening and to create political stability in the country," FMT quoted him as saying.
Yesterday, Sabah Bersatu's leaders announced that they would leave the party and form their own.
To become official, these MPs must have their resignations formally accepted by Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Wan Junaidi said.
"If so, they will have to vacate their seats and unfortunately, there would have to be by-elections," he said.
According to the anti-hopping law, MPs who switch parties lose their seats. MPs who have been sacked by their party or whose party has been dissolved or deregistered are exempt from this law.
Wan Junaidi said an MP must notify the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat that a casual vacancy has occurred. Upon establishing that such a vacancy exists, the Speaker will notify the Election Commission, and the vacancy must be filled within 60 days, he said.
"Once the Speaker has established the fact that the MPs' resignations have been accepted by the party, they will have lost their seats.
"I'm not sure whether the court will interpret it any other way as it's clearly worded in the law."
GRS was formally registered as a coalition in March. Its members were Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and United Sabah National Organisation (Usno). The coalition forms the Sabah state government in alliance with Barisan Nasional.