Sabah State Assembly To Dissolve Automatically On Nov 11 - Speaker

By Fadzli Ramli

KOTA KINABALU, July 6 (Bernama) -- The 16th Sabah State Legislative Assembly will be automatically dissolved on Nov 11 this year if it is not dissolved earlier, said Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim M Yahya.

He said the five-year term of the assembly is calculated from the date of the first sitting of the 16th Sabah State Assembly, which was on Nov 12, 2020, making Nov 11 this year the end of the term.

He noted that there is some public misunderstanding regarding the date the assembly will automatically dissolve, with some assuming the term began on the polling day of the 16th Sabah State Election on Sept 26, 2020, or on Sept 22 for early voting.

“There are outsiders who misunderstand the dissolution date. Some count from polling day, others think it starts from the date the elected representatives were sworn in (Oct 9, 2020).

“(In fact) it (the five-year term of the Sabah assembly) is not counted from the polling day, the announcement of the election results, or the swearing-in of assemblymen. It is counted from the date of the first sitting of the new legislative term,” he told Bernama.

Kadzim said if the assembly dissolves automatically on Nov 11, Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Musa Aman and the Election Commission (EC) would be formally notified of the matter.

"An election for the state must then be held within 60 days from the date of dissolution,” he added.

Commenting on the upcoming Sabah State Assembly sitting scheduled for two days starting tomorrow, he said four bills will be tabled, covering supplementary supply, state sales tax, forestry, and climate change and carbon governance.

“We normally have at least three sittings a year, so (this time) there's more attention because if the State Assembly dissolves after this, it will be the final sitting of the term. If not, it will be the third sitting this year. Nothing out of the ordinary this time, just a regular sitting,” he said.

Kadzim also said that broadcasting the Sabah assembly sitting live on social media, including YouTube, enables the public to follow debates, especially those concerning state policies, without needing to attend in person.

“I think it’s better for people to watch it live because our focus is solely on the debates... there are many benefits to live broadcasts,” he said.

He added that the live telecast also encourages assemblymen to maintain decorum and proper conduct during proceedings, and ensures quality debates as they are aware they are being observed by the public.

“If I were an assemblyman, I’d also be more disciplined, knowing that I’m being followed live by the public. The good thing is, the coverage will be wider since not everyone can come to the assembly,” he said.

He stressed that the Sabah State Assembly building is gazetted as a security zone, and therefore, certain restrictions must be adhered to in the surrounding area to avoid it becoming an uncomfortable environment for official matters.

“It’s not that we’re stopping people from coming, but we don’t want the assembly to feel like a convention centre with crowds swarming around. Since the area is already gazetted as a security zone, there are limits – please observe them,” he said.

When asked about the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Kadzim said they have not yet been able to fully utilise the technology due to some limitations, especially regarding language translation.

“If one day AI can be used for legislative sittings, we could use it to assist in our work, including producing the Hansard and so forth,” he said.

-- BERNAMA