‘Dr Ting must reimburse all monies received as Pujut rep’
KUCHING: The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) would seek to recover all remunerations received by former Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon during his time as an elected representative, said DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar.
Speaking to a press conference here yesterday following the Federal Court’s majority decision which disqualified Dr Ting as a member of the august House, Asfia said DUN secretary Pele Peter Tinggom would be writing to Dr Ting to ask for reimbursement of all monies received.
“He (Dr Ting) has never been a lawful representative of Pujut, and as such he should not be receiving salary (as an assemblyman). He should reimburse them,” said Mohamad Asfia.
On another ma er, the DUN Sarawak Speaker confirmed that no by-election would be held for the now-vacant Pujut seat, as the vacancy would continue within two years of the expiry of the DUN’s current term in June 2021.
Furthermore, he said the vacancy would not affect the numerical strength of the party that constituted a majority of all the members of the DUN, namely Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) which had a two-thirds majority.
He also said Malaysia’ s‘ first pastelectoral system meant that the candidate who garnered the most votes a er Dr Ting in the 2016 state election would not become the next assemblyman for Pujut.
With questions hanging over Dr Ting’s citizenship status, Mohamad Asfia went on to challenge the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to field Dr Ting again in the next state election if the party felt the la er was not in the wrong.
“Dr Ting will not be eligible to contest in future elections, but if the DAP decides to put him up to contest again, they can try.”
He added that Pujut voters had grounds to lodge a police report against Dr Ting if they felt that they had been deceived, noting there was an element of deception when Dr Ting signed the statutory declaration prior to the state election, stating that he was eligible to contest when in fact he was not.
“No one is above the law. Dr Ting is trying to be above the law. How can you be above the law when you are part of the law to uphold the law?”
Adding that the case against Dr Ting was never about politics but rather patriotism and loyalty of a citizen, Asfia described the apex court’s decision as a ‘magnificent victory’.
“It is a magnificent victory because the Federal Court bu ressed Article 72 of the Federal Constitution,” he said.
Article 72 of the Federal Constitution states that any valid proceeding of the Legislature shall not be questioned by the Court of Law.
He (Dr Ting) has never been a lawful representative of Pujut, and as such he should not be receiving salary (as an assemblyman). He should reimburse them. Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar