THE Court of Appeal has set November 8 to hear the appeals of four ex-Penang assemblymen over the dismissal of their lawsuits to challenge the validity of a motion passed by the state assembly for them to vacate their seats. 

Case management for the appeals was conducted today before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Radzilawatee Abdul Rahman, who fixed the hearing date. 

When contacted by Bernama, lawyer A. Surendra Ananth, who is representing the Penang legislative assembly and speaker Law Choo Kiang confirmed the matter. 

The four former assemblymen were Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Khaliq Mehtab Ishaq (Bertam), and Zolkifly Md Lazim (Telok Bahang). 

In the suits, the four men challenged the constitutionality of Article 14A of the Penang State Constitution to stop their seats from being declared vacant, pursuant to Article 14A. 

In dismissing the lawsuits on January 20, Penang High Court Judicial Commissioner Azizan Md Arshad held that he was bound by the Federal Court decision declaring that Article 14A of the State Constitution was valid. 

Article 14(A) of the Penang State Constitution states that a state assemblyman must vacate his seat if he resigns, is stripped of his membership, ceases to be a politician, or is chosen as a candidate by another political party. 

Azizan also ruled that the court could not grant an injunction against the state legislative assembly and the speaker to prevent them from discussing the motion requesting the assemblymen to vacate their seats during the state assembly sitting. 

He said the court could not interfere and had no authority over the internal management of the state legislative assembly. – Bernama, May 5, 2023.