Perlis Assembly Speaker Announces Unexpected Vacancies Of Three State Seats
KANGAR, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- Perlis State Assembly Speaker Rus'sele Eizan today announced the unexpected vacancies for the Chuping, Bintong and Guar Sanji state seats following the immediate termination of the respective assemblymen, all from PAS, from the party.
Rus'sele said the unexpected vacancies fulfilled the requirements of Clause (1)(a)(ii) of Article 50A of the Perlis Constitution for the three affected constituencies.
"I have received written notice regarding the three unexpected vacancies under Clause (3) of Article 50A of the Perlis Constitution from Beseri Assemblyman Haziq Aysraf Dun.
"In accordance with the powers under Clause (3) of Article 50A of the Perlis Constitution, I have reviewed and scrutinised to the best of my ability the developments that have occurred regarding the three assemblymen, and I am satisfied to conclude that there have been unexpected vacancies in the three constituencies,” he said.
He said this when met by reporters at the Perlis State Assembly Speaker’s Office at the Seri Putra Complex here today.
He added that he would formally notify the Election Commission (EC) of the vacancies soon.
Elaborating, Rus’sele said that although the Perlis State Assembly had completed three years of its term on Dec 18, the state government believes it is necessary to hold by-elections to fill the vacancies.
“Under normal circumstances, based on Clause (5) of Article 55 of the Perlis Constitution, there is no requirement to hold elections to fill vacancies once the State Assembly has reached three years or more.
“However, in my view, the three vacancies should be filled in the interest of government stability, as the vacancies affect the number of members forming the majority in the State Assembly, which in turn impacts the government’s ability to provide the best service to the people.
"In this regard, I will exercise my discretion as provided under the proviso to Clause (5) of Article 55 of the Perlis Constitution by informing the Election Commission (EC) in writing,” he said.
Earlier, it was reported that Perikatan Nasional (PN) assemblymen in Perlis had allegedly met the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, claiming to have a majority and expressing a loss of confidence in Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli.
Last night, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang issued a statement stating that the party had terminated the membership of its three Perlis assemblymen with immediate effect, in accordance with Clause 76 and Clause 15A(1)(b) of the PAS Constitution (Amendment 2025).
They are Chuping assemblyman Saad Seman, Bintong assemblyman Fakhrul Anwar Ismail, and Guar Sanji assemblyman Mohd Ridzuan Hashim.
In the 15th General Election (GE15), Perikatan Nasional (PN) won 14 of the 15 state seats, consisting of nine by PAS and five by Bersatu, while the remaining seat was won by PKR.
-- BERNAMA
