You were against tougher anti-hopping rules, Saifuddin reminds PN

 

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said PN representatives Hamzah Zainudin and Takiyuddin Hassan disagreed with suggestions put forward to a parliamentary select committee. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has reminded Perikatan Nasional (PN) that it was against moves to introduce a more stringent anti-hopping law.

Yesterday, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin described the anti-hopping law as flawed and called for a review after four Bersatu MPs pledged their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a Facebook post today, Saifuddin recounted how he was among those who represented the coalition in a parliamentary select committee formed to draft an anti-hopping bill last year, and the resistance which PN showed during the negotiations.

Saifuddin said PH’s position was that MPs who acted against the party whip’s decisions in the Dewan Rakyat – such as on budget votes, motions of no confidence, and any bills affecting the government’s position – would be considered as having vacated their seats, prompting a by-election.

He said PH was also of the view that MPs dismissed by their party for disciplinary breaches or violations of the party’s constitution would be considered as having vacated their seats.

However, he said, PN, which was represented by PN and Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin and PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, disagreed with those suggestions.

Saifuddin said the committee’s chair, then law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, suggested that only proposals achieving consensus among all parties would be included.

“In the end, how would an MP be considered to have lost their seat? By declaring they were joining another party or becoming an independent,” he said.

“Declaring support for the prime minister? (They) won’t lose their seats.”

Bersatu’s Jeli MP Zahari Kechik, Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim, Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman and Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid have stated their support for Anwar Ibrahim’s government in a bid to secure allocations for their constituencies.

All four have said they remain loyal to the party. However, Bersatu has suspended Suhaili for six years and Iskandar Dzulkarnain for four years.

Bersatu said yesterday it will lodge reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), with Muhyiddin claiming that there was evidence the four MPs were either threatened or offered development allocations in exchange for their support. - FMT