PUJUT assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon was today disqualified as a lawmaker in the Sarawak assembly for obtaining an Australian citizenship previously, paving the way for a by-election.

Other reasons given for Ting’s disqualification were that he had registered himself as an Australian voter and was twice declared a bankrupt while living there.

Tin was said to have contravened Article 17 (1) (G) of the Sarawak Constitution which states that a person is disqualified from being elected as a member of the state assembly if he, among others, has voluntarily acquired citizenship or exercised rights of citizenship in any country outside the federation or has made declaration of allegiance to any country outside the federation.

Seventy Barisan Nasional lawmakers voted he should be disqualified against 10 from the opposition. DAP state chief Chong Chieng Jen described the disqualification as the use of “brute force” by the ruling BN. The disqualification takes effect immediately.

Chong, who is also the Kota Sentosa assemblyman, said Ting has become the first Malaysian lawmaker to be disqualified by the legislature.

The opposition is now bracing for a by-election in the Pujut seat even as Chong said the party would have to study all the legal aspects regarding today’s proceedings and see if the decision could be challenged in court.

Earlier, Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce Wong Soon Koh, tabled the motion to disqualify Ting under several Standing Orders of the state assembly and Articles 17 (1)(G) and 19 of the state’s constitution.

To back his claims, Wong, who is also chief of the pro-BN United People’s Party (UPP) whose candidate lost in the contest for the Pujut seat in last year’s state elections, stated that Criminal Investigation Department director Mohd Salleh in a reply to his query said Ting was an Australian citizen on January 20, 2012 but renounced the citizenship on April 4 last year.

sWong described Ting as “unfit and untrustworthy person to be a member of the assembly”.

The move to disqualify Ting sparked a heated debate with Chong arguing that Wong’s evidence “would not stand in court” as they were “internet printouts” and are not acceptable legal documents from the Australian government.

Chong said all the evidence were, therefore, mere hearsay and fabrication to tarnish Ting’s reputation. Ting said Wong was being malicious and challenged him to repeat the accusation that he was a bankrupt outside the assembly.

In December last year, Ting survived a challenge by the defeated UPP and BN candidate, Hii King Chiong, to disqualify him by nullifying the results for the Pujut state constituency.

High Court judge Ravinthran N. Paramaguru dismissed the petition as it failed to clear the legal threshold to be heard as Hii had failed to deposit RM10,000 and three copies of the petition with the Election Court registrar as required under Rule 3 of the Election Rules 1954.

“They couldn’t get Ting disqualified in court so they (BN) brought this case to the state assembly where they used their might and brute strength to disqualify him,” Chong said.

BN has a two-thirds majority in the assembly. – May 12, 2017.