Will speaker follow law or 'party' in anti-hopping case, Bersatu MP asks

A Bersatu lawmaker has questioned whether Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul will decide on the party’s move to oust six rebel MPs by following the rule of law, or partisan lines.

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan said as it stands, Johari has no choice but to declare the six seats vacant as the MPs had lost their Bersatu membership.

“This is an important test of the concept of separation of powers in our Parliament.

“The nation and the world will judge whether the speaker acts to uphold the dignity of the Dewan Rakyat and the supremacy of the Constitution, or whether he acts in a partisan manner,” Wan Saiful (above) said in a statement on his Facebook yesterday.

Johari is a former PKR lawmaker and was an Anwar Ibrahim stalwart. He quit the party when he was made Dewan Rakyat speaker in December 2022.

Six Bersatu MPs had previously declared support for Anwar as prime minister.

They are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang).

In response to the rebels, Bersatu, in turn, enacted new rules whereby those who went against the party would forfeit their membership.

The six had reportedly declined to affirm their loyalty to the party when prompted to do so after the new rule was enacted - which led to their loss of membership.

Under the anti-hopping law, MPs who quit a party lose their seats, whereas MPs who are sacked remain as independent lawmakers.

It is now up to Johari to decide whether the Bersatu rebels have resigned or were sacked.

As of Friday, Johari stated he had yet to receive any official notification from any party regarding the now vacant seats involving the six expelled Bersatu MPs.

However, Bersatu said in a statement on Saturday that the supreme council had only decided on the rebels’ membership status that day itself, and that party secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin would be taking follow-up action.

Not within speaker’s purview

For Wan Saiful, the matter - and what Johari should do - is clear-cut.

“The loss of one’s membership is an internal party matter and not within the purview of the speaker.

“Once the party has a stance on the matter, then the speaker’s action must be based on what the Federal Constitution requires after someone’s membership is terminated,” he added.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul

Apart from the MPs, two state representatives - Selat Klang assemblyperson Abdul Rashid Asari and Azizi who is also Nenggiri assemblyperson - are expected to face the same fate for aligning with Anwar’s Madani coalition.

This is not the first time Johari and Bersatu have tangled over party hopping.

In the aftermath of the 15th general election, four Sabah MPs who were Bersatu members - together with the state’s Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition - sided with Anwar.

Bersatu argued this was a clear case of party hopping, and sought for the four to be expelled as MPs.

However, the four MPs claimed that they had become GRS direct members just before the election, and argued that they had contested under the GRS ticket, and not Bersatu or Perikatan Nasional.

Johari ruled in the GRS MPs’ favour. - Mkini