By MOHD IZHAM BIN HASHIM
KOTA KINABALU: Melalap Assemblyman Datuk Peter Anthony risks losing his state seat if he does not file a petition for pardon by Sept 2, following the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold his conviction and three-year prison sentence.
Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Panglima Kadzim M. Yahya said the petition must be submitted within the stipulated period, failing which the Melalap state seat will automatically be declared vacant on Sept 3, 2025.
“If the petition for pardon is not filed within the stipulated timeframe, the N42 Melalap State Assembly seat will automatically become vacant on Sept 3, 2025,” he told reporters yesterday.
Kadzim added that his office has yet to receive any formal notification from Peter’s lawyers on whether he intends to file an appeal with the Pardons Board.
The Court of Appeal had earlier upheld the Sessions Court’s decision, which found Peter guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison. His application for a review of the judgment, filed on March 4, 2025, was dismissed.
“Under Article 17(1)(e) of the Sabah State Constitution, any member of the State Legislative Assembly who is convicted of an offence and sentenced to at least one year’s imprisonment or fined RM2,000 or more will be disqualified as a member,” Kadzim explained.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said this provision must be read together with other clauses in the State Constitution. Specifically, Article 17(3A) states that disqualification takes effect if no petition for pardon is submitted within 14 days from the date of conviction.
The press conference was also attended by Deputy State Assembly Speakers, Datuk Richard Yong and Datuk Al Hambra Tun Juhar.
On Aug 20, a three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed Peter’s application to have another panel review a previous Court of Appeal decision that upheld his conviction and sentence.
The ruling followed Peter’s filing of a notice of motion on March 14, 2025, seeking to review and overturn the Court of Appeal’s March 4 decision.
On March 4, the Court of Appeal ordered Peter to serve a three-year prison term after rejecting his final appeal against the conviction and sentence imposed by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in May 2022.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court had earlier, on April 18, 2023, upheld the Sessions Court’s ruling, which sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment and imposed a RM50,000 fine under Section 468 of the Penal Code.
Peter, in his capacity as managing director of Asli Jati Sdn Bhd, was charged with falsifying a letter from Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s deputy vice-chancellor’s office dated June 9, 2014, by inserting false statements with intent to deceive. The alleged offence occurred at the office of the principal private secretary to the Prime Minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014.
