PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that the latest defections of two PKR MPs were due to coercion, threats or pressure from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The duo - Julau MP Larry Sng and Tebrau MP Steven Choong - yesterday announced their exit from PKR and pledged support for PN as independent parliamentarians.
Citing the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's decree that Parliament can reconvene during an emergency, Anwar claimed PN lacked the confidence of its strength to carry a session.
"If it is true that we love the people and we want them to rise together, we must call for Parliament to sit and for PN to step down because they have lost majority.
"Right now they have lost majority and so they struggle to buy, hire, threaten... use up all their efforts to secure support, before they can even start thinking about reconvening Parliament," claimed Anwar.
As for the defectors, Anwar recalled that similar incidents of party hopping had occurred after the 2008 general elections, and the lawmakers were punished by voters in the following 2013 polls.
"That was because of their own considerations, their personalities.
"The pressures placed on them, be it in the form of taxes, projects (offers) or other pressures until they had no choice. But they claimed to do it for the people," he said.
Both Sng and Choong cited the interest of their constituencies for their decision.
Anwar, however, said their main consideration should have been for equal allocations for all elected representatives, including those from the opposition.
"That should have been our (MPs) demand," he said, adding that giving up through defection was a result of emotional instability or confusion.
The opposition leader also reiterated a call for Parliament to reconvene as a platform to address current issues including rising unemployment numbers and the country's ratings among foreign investors.
Under the original calendar, Parliament was due to sit on March 8, but this has since been cancelled under emergency orders.
With support from Sng and Choong, PN has regained a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat with 111 MPs.
The duo made up for the withdrawal of support from two BN lawmakers - Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz and Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub.
On the opposition bench, Pakatan Harapan is down to 89 MPs, while the remaining comprise the yet-to-be-registered Pejuang and Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), along with PSB, Warisan, Upko and independents.
- Mkini
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