THE Sarawak assembly wants Ting Tiong Choon to repay all the funds he received as Pujut assemblyman, said Mohd Asfia Awang.

The state speaker said Ting should reimburse the money as the Federal Court has ruled that he was not lawfully elected.

Asfia said he will instruct the assembly’s secretary to write to Ting about the matter once he has received a copy of the court ruling.

“Ting has never been an elected rep of Pujut. As such, he should not have received the salaries, and he should reimburse (the amount),” he told a press conference in Kuching after the apex court delivered its decision today.

The court, in a 7-2 decision, stripped Ting of his post as assemblyman due to his Australian citizenship. He now faces the prospect of having to repay more than RM960,000.

On average, a Sarawak assemblyman receives about RM20,000 in salary and allowances a month.

Asfia stressed that the action taken by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak-majority assembly to disqualify Ting was not a question of politics.

“It is a question of patriotism. When a Malaysian is disloyal and voluntarily acquires the citizenship of a foreign country, takes a vow and oath of allegiance to that country, votes in that country, becomes an integral part of that country, he cannot and should not be allowed to represent the electorate in Malaysia and sit in its legislature.”

He said the landmark court decision is also “a great victory for the state assembly, because today, the Federal Court, the highest court in the land, upholds this doctrine of separation of power”.

“It is a magnificent victory because the Federal Court buttressed Article 72 of the federal constitution.”

The Sarawak assembly, in a partisan vote on May 12, 2017, disqualified Ting as Pujut rep following a motion tabled by ex-state international trade and e-commerce minister Wong Soon Koh over the former’s dual citizenship.

Ting had said he renounced his Australian citizenship on April 4, 2016, just three weeks before the state elections.

The DAP man, who had studied medicine in Australia before settling down there, took his disqualification to court by filing an originating summons on June 7, 2017.

Ten days later, the Kuching High Court ruled that the state assembly had no express power to deal with an election result, as such power was with the election court.

It also ruled that the assembly was not a competent body to decide on constitutional issues, and by not giving Ting adequate time to defend himself, Asfia did not observe the principle of natural justice.

Asfia, the assembly and Wong then appealed at the Court of Appeal, which upheld the high court’s decision. Following this, the three parties brought their appeal to the Federal Court.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak president James Masing described today’s ruling as a “good and fair judicial decision”.

“How can we have a lawmaker with dual citizenship? He or she will have dual loyalties should a situation arise where their loyalties are tested.”

The deputy chief minister said there seemed to be dishonesty involved as Ting had put his name down as a candidate for Pujut knowing full well his citizenship status.

Masing called on the authorities to investigate Ting.

Sarawak Pakatan Harapan and DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen, meanwhile, said the Federal Court made a “disappointing” decision.

He said the state DAP “feels sad about the majority decision, which literally leaves it to the Sarawak assembly to do whatever it wants in the assembly, an unfettered and unlimited power, and this basically destroys the fundamental doctrine of separation of power”.

Ting’s Barisan Nasional rival, Hii King Chiong, had tried to disqualify him at the election court, but the petition was tossed out on technical grounds.

Ting won the Chinese-majority seat with a 1,759-vote majority in a four-cornered fight. He polled 8,899 votes, or 52.57%, against Hii’s 7,140. The other two candidates, Jofri Jaraiee of PAS and independent Fong Pau Teck, received 513 and 357 votes, respectively. – February 11, 2020.