KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah has moved to “force” a vacancy in the Sindumin state seat after its incumbent assemblyman, Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob, quit the party on Oct 8.

       Warisan’s lawyers submitted the pre-signed resignation letter by Dr Yusof to the office of the Speaker of the Sabah legislative assembly on Friday.

       When contacted, Speaker Datuk Kadzim Yahya confirmed that his office received the letter while he had also received a sworn affidavit from Dr Yusof revoking all his pre-signed oath (Aku Janji pledges) he made as a Warisan candidate.

       “I have received a notification from the Sindumin assemblyman on Oct 8 informing me he was leaving Warisan and will be an independent assemblyman supporting the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor,” he said, adding that Dr Yacob has also informed him that he has withdrawn the undated letter of his purported resignation.

       “Give me some time to peruse the letters (from Warisan and Dr Yusof).

       “To be fair to both sides, I will be going through all the documents together with my deputies and assembly secretary to decide whether the Sindumin seat will be vacant or otherwise,” he added.

       The pre-signed resignation letter by Dr Yusof was part of the party’s requirement for all their candidates contesting in last year’s snap Sabah election.

       A video of the candidates taking their oath of loyalty to the party and promising to vacate the seat in the event they crossover was also taken.

       The video of Dr Yusof taking his oath has been circulating on social media.

       Dr Yusof, who quit the party to be an independent assemblyman supporting both the state and federal governments, could not be reached for comment.

       Warisan had attempted to vacate the Sebatik state seat by using a similar pre-signed letter of resignation after its assemblyman Hassan Amir Gani left the party on Feb 25 to support the GRS-led state government.

       However, Kadzim rejected the pre-signed resignation letter after Hassan submitted a statutory declaration revoking all previously signed documents.

       In making his decision at that time, Kadzim said that he decided against a vacancy for the Sebatik seat as “the letter was void and against public policy, as far as the law stands now.”

       Warisan has since taken a civil suit against Hassan, and the case is still at the High Court.