Speaker rejects Segama rep's 'quit letter'

Sabah Legislative Assembly Speaker Kadzim M Yahya has rejected a purported letter signed by Mohamaddin Ketapi that states Mohamaddin has resigned as the Segama assemblyperson.

Kadzim told a press conference in Kota Kinabalu yesterday that he had received the letter from a law firm on Nov 1. However, Mohamaddin had submitted a statutory declaration the following day to invalidate the contents of the letter.

Following this, Kadzim said he summoned Mohamaddin (above) for a meeting yesterday and confirmed that the letter did not vacate his seat.

"I also wish to stress here that based on the law, a resignation letter with no date is invalid. Hence, Mohamaddin remains as the Segama assemblyman," he is reported as saying by Bernama.

Mohamaddin had announced that he was no longer a Warisan member and would be an independent assemblyperson supporting the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government.

He added that he will be an independent MP for Lahad Datu.

Previously, Kadzim had gone through a similar process for Sebatik assemblyperson Hassan A Gani Pg Amir and Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof Yacob.

Hassan left Warisan in February while Yusof left in October.

It is understood that all Warisan assemblypersons were made to sign undated resignation letters as a condition to be a Warisan candidate for the State Legislative Assembly election that took place in September last year.

The signing ceremony, which saw each candidate reciting a pledge to resign if they were to defect, was held at the Sabah Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu and recorded on video.

The election saw Warisan winning 23 seats. It is now down to 19. Apart from losing the three abovementioned seats, Warisan also lost the Bugaya seat after the incumbent Manis Muka Mohd Darah passed away in November last year.