Najib at the BioMalaysia 2009 Conference and Exhibition in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 17, 2009) : Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak says Barisan Nasional (BN) will respect the High Court’s decision in declaring the Kota Siputeh state seat in Kedah vacant.

"We will also work according to the system ... if we can appeal, we will appeal and take it from there. But whatever the court decides, we will have to abide by it," he said after officiating at the BioMalaysia 2009 Conference and Exhibition in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.

The Kota Siputeh seat was declared vacant yesterday after the High Court found BN's Datuk Abu Hassan Sarif absent without leave for two consecutive state assembly meetings.

In the 2008 General Election, Abu Hassan defeated PAS candidate Ismail Wan Teh with a majority of 495 votes.

If the court's decicion is upheld, then it will be the country's 10th by-election since March last year.

High Court judge Datuk Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin ruled on Monday that the Election Commission (EC) had encroached on the Speaker’s powers when it decided that Abu Hassan was still the state representative despite being told by the Speaker that the seat had been ruled vacant.