SHAH ALAM - The summons in a civil case or damages by any individuals will not affect the position of an assemblyman, even if they lose the case.
Professors National Council Political, Governance and Legal Cluster chief Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood said the representative would only face the seat loss if they failed to pay the summons and were declared bankrupt.
He said their positions could be affected if they faced criminal cases.
"The eligibility of an assemblyman will only be stripped if they were found guilty in criminal cases and imprisoned for 12 months or more or fined no less than RM2,000.
"In the summons case involving the Kedah Menteri Besar (Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor) by Tan Sri Vincent Tan with the claims of RM200 million, it is actually a normal matter.
"Usually, the claims stated would be high, but the amount eligible would be set by the court on several calculations,” he said.
He said this when asked if Kedah Menteri Besar’s position was at risk if he won the state election, as there were court cases and summons claims he faced.
Recently, the Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan revealed summons towards Sanusi claiming damages of RM200 million following the slanderous statements made by Sanusi on the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Law and Policy lecturer Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Fathi Yusof agreed and stated it would not affect Sanusi if he retained the assemblyman title.
He explained even if it involved a criminal case, it would take some time.
"The case is still new and it would have to go through a trial, decision, and two appeal processes.
"It’s still too early to look at his position as an assemblyman if he won in the state election because the case just started,” he said.