A Bersatu leader has condemned the Penang state legislative assembly's move to declare four Perikatan Nasional-held seats vacant, accusing DAP and Umno of being partners in attempts to silence any form of check and balance ahead of upcoming state polls.

Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan also said the move, which left the opposition bench with a single representative, is not in line with the spirit of the federal anti-hopping law on an en bloc departure or in circumstances where the elected lawmakers were sacked by their party.

"This, for me, is a black mark in Penang's history whereby the DAP and Umno have removed all possibilities of check and balance so...