GEORGE TOWN (Oct 8): The special motion to declare as vacant, the seats of assemblymen who violated the state’s anti-hopping law will not be tabled at the Penang State Legislative Assembly sitting which is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the decision was made considering the current COVID-19 situation and the negative impact from the recent Sabah state election.

“After considering many factors in this trying time, the state government feels that we must put public health and safety first. Therefore, the State Executive Council at its meeting yesterday decided that we will not carry on with tabling the motion in the upcoming sitting,” he told a press conference, here, today.

Chow had reportedly announced that the state government would table the motion for assemblymen to vacate their seats after they violated the state's anti-hopping law, in accordance with Section 14A of the Penang State Constitution.

He said the tabling of the motion was the state government’s initiative based on the principles of democracy to enable assemblymen to debate before any decision was reached.

The four assemblymen who announced that they had lost faith in the leadership of Pakatan Harapan were Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifli Md Lazim (Teluk Bahang), both from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), and Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya) and Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), whose memberships with PKR were suspended.

Chow said the state government believed the motion would be debated at length during the sitting which would be held for seven days (until Oct 19) and would receive a strong majority from the assemblymen.

“We are confident that if we table this motion, a by-election must be held within 60 days but because of the current COVID-19 situation and we don’t want what happened in Sabah to recur, we have decided to postpone the tabling of the motion.

“We will table it at another session deemed suitable without jeopardising public health to conduct a by-election,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said there was no need to enforce a Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order in Penang as the COVID-19 situation in the state was still under control.

“The National Security Council will evaluate the situation and advise the state government. All agencies in the state are always ready to carry out their duties should the COVID-19 situation become worrying,” said Chow.