KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Peter Anthony has 14 days to take any legal action before being automatically disqualified as the Melalap assemblyman.
State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Kadzim M. Yahya said this 14-day period began yesterday after the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence against the assemblyman for document forgery.
“It’s now up to him to exhaust it within the 14 days. If he has exhausted all legal avenues within that period, his seat will be vacated automatically,” he told a press conference here today.
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal upheld Peter’s conviction, three-year jail sentence and fine of RM50,000 handed down by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in May 2022 for falsifying documents related to a maintenance and service contract at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) 11 years ago.
Kadzim said the status of the Melalap assemblyman will be decided once all relevant legal provisions have been fulfilled.
According to Article 17(1)(e) of the Sabah State Constitution, any assemblyman convicted by a court in the Federation and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than one year or fined not less than RM2,000 will lose eligibility as an assemblyman.
However, this provision must be read together with other related provisions under the Sabah State Constitution concerning the disqualification of a state assemblyman, he added.
