A LAWYER and human rights activist has questioned if there was a betrayal of the Gurun electorate – who now will no longer have a representative in the Kedah State Assembly – by virtue of the recent appointment of Datuk Johari Abdul as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
Noting that the next the Kedah state election could be the latest by September 2023, Charles Hector wondered why is it that the Election Commission (EC) is silent about prospect for a Gurun by-election soon after Johari having tendered his resignation notice on Dec 13.
“The EC should have already informed Gurun folks the dates of the by-election for a new Gurun ADUN (state assemblyman),” asserted Hector in his latest blog posting.
“There are still more than nine months until the last date when the (Kedah) State Assembly would be dissolved and the state poll happens. The people of Gurun are entitled to have an ADUN as so many important decisions could be debated and made from Dec 13.”
Stressing that state governments are just as important as the Federal government, Hector said what Johari did can be perceived as an “act of disrespect to the Kedah state and the Sultan, more so since he resigned just to be appointed as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat”.
“If his resignation was due to health reasons – or some other good reasons – it may be acceptable.”
Hector further wondered if Johari who won by 147 to 74 votes to become the 11th Dewan Rakyat speaker had informed the Kedah Sultan and get the Malay Ruler’s consent before tendering his resignation.
“Did Johari have any discussion with the people of the Gurun Constituency – or did he simply resign because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or Pakatan Harapan (PH) told him to?
“So, does this mean the people of Gurun are not important or LESS important? All-in-all, this tells us a lot about our new Dewan Rakyat speaker.” – Dec 29, 2022
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
