Backing Anwar for PM is not party hopping, says Saifuddin

 

Saifuddin Nasution said Anwar Ibrahim’s courting of other MPs did not amount to an endorsement of party hopping.

PETALING JAYA: Saifuddin Nasution has defended PKR’s past attempts at wooing MPs from rival parties to support Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to be prime minister, saying it did not amount to an endorsement of party hopping.

The party’s secretary-general said other friendly MPs could provide support for Anwar without the need to switch parties.

“We (the opposition) sought support from other parties as we needed at least 112 MPs to form a government. However, we didn’t ask them to switch parties but merely provide additional support for Anwar (to become prime minister),” he said in an interview with FMT.

Watch the video here.

Pakatan Harapan had lost power in February 2020 and was replaced in Putrajaya by Perikatan Nasional, led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

A few months later, in September, Anwar claimed he had a “strong, convincing, formidable majority” to form a new government. He declared the collapse of the Muhyiddin government.

Saifuddin said Anwar’s courting of other MPs did not amount to an endorsement of party hopping.

He also said the decision to seek support from other lawmakers was reached collectively among party members and Anwar should not be blamed for it.

An anti-hopping law is one of the main reforms sought by Pakatan Harapan when it signed a confidence and supply agreement with Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government last year.

Saifuddin is the chairman of the steering committee for the memorandum of understanding. In January, Pakatan Harapan informed Ismail that the MoU would be “automatically cancelled” if the anti-hopping law was not tabled.

A parliamentary committee is now drafting the proposed law for tabling at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting in July.

The coalition had earlier this month said the bill would be tabled and passed by the end of May. - FMT