New Straits Times

REMOVAL

- Beaufort, CHONG CHIENG JEN Butterwort­h,

approved by 70 votes to 10.

Chong also said it was the state assembly Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar’s right to inform the Election Commission that the Pujut state seat was vacant.

“We are expecting a by-election to be called even before the court case has been finalised.

“If that happens, we will contest too.

“We (still) want the Pujut (state seat),” he said.

Dr Ting, who was present at the press conference, said he would remain in DAP to continue serving the people in Pujut.

In Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Barisan Nasional (BN) was confident of wresting the Pujut state seat if a by-election was held.

He said if BN managed to wrest the seat from DAP, it would increase the number of seats held by Sarawak BN to 73 compared with 72 seats won in the last state election.

“God willing, there will be a by-election in Pujut and we (BN) will get 73 out of 83 seats (in Sarawak state assembly),” he said at a meetthe-people session in Dataran Bagandang near here yesterday.

In

Pas spiritual leader Hashim Jasin supported the Sarawak legislativ­e assembly’s decision to disqualify Dr Ting.

He said any country would take similar action, and that Malaysia was no different.

“Their action to disqualify Dr Ting

This is not a case involving Dr Ting himself or DAP but it is an assault on our country’s democratic system.

is justified.

“This is something even other foreign countries would do,” he said.

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