End of the road likely for some MPs

Heavy court convictions may make them ineligible to contest in general election

PETALING JAYA: Some Opposition MPs may be attending Dewan Rakyat for the last time this March as their court convictions may make them ineligible to contest in the general election.

Among them is two-term Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, who lost his appeal against an 18-month jail sentence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) at the High Court last August.

If the jail sentence is not set aside by a higher court, he will not be eligible to contest in the coming elections.

Rafizi, who is PKR vice-president, will be barred from contesting if his appeal is not overturned by the Court of Appeal by June 24. It is the date when the Barisan Nasional’s five-year term ends. A general election must be held within 60 days following the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat.

Under Article 148 of the Federal Constitution, an MP faces disqualification from holding office if he or she is sentenced to a prison term not less than a year or fined RM2,000 or above.

However, the disqualification would not come into effect until the process is exhausted.

On Tuesday, in response to questions on when the general election will be called, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said according to the Federal Constitution, the elections should be called by June. If not, Parliament will automatically be dissolved.

Rafizi’s colleague, PKR vice-president Tian Chua, was fined RM3,000 by the Sessions Court in March last year for insulting the modesty of a police officer. The three-term Batu MP is appealing his case with a decision still pending.

Bukit Katil PKR MP Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin was charged for contravening the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which provided for a max- imum fine of RM20,000 upon conviction.

The PKR vice-president’s case is still pending and he has been ordered to enter his defence this month. He has filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal and applied for a stay of proceedings in the Sessions Court.

Meanwhile, other MPs have either spoken about their intentions to leave office or to contest in the coming elections.

Former Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him resigned from the DAP to become an Independent lawmaker last February. However, the 70-yearold two-term MP does not intend to defend his seat in the coming polls.

Barisan Nasional MP Tan Sri Shahrir Samad had said in May last year that he would hand over the reins to a younger leader.

However, the popular Johor Baru MP, who has served the city for seven terms since 1978, was reported to have said that he would defend his seat in the next elections following the Prime Minister’s request for him to stay on.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has been undefeated as Gua Musang MP, may contest again in the coming general election. He first came to office as an Alliance party candidate after defeating PAS for the then Ulu Kelantan Barat seat in 1969.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wants independent election observers to be appointed during the general election to ensure that the polls are clean.

His call for the independent election observers came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that cheating in the elections would not occur due to the strict rules imposed by the Election Commission.

In a statement, Muhyiddin said Pakatan urged the Government to invite observers from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations to monitor the proceedings during the elections.

He claimed the polling districts that were won by Barisan Nasional in the last general election were moved to the ones where they won with a slim majority to increase their majority in those areas.

“Whereas, the polling districts won by the Opposition last time with a slim majority were moved out from the parliamentary or state constituencies, aiming to reduce the Opposition’s votes in the areas and giving an upper-hand to Barisan,” he added.

Najib said any allegations suggesting that cheating would take place were just attempts by the Opposition to cast doubt on the election results.

“The question of cheating does not arise,” he said during the Umno supreme council meeting on Tuesday.