DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook challenged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to act like a prime minister and not a party follower in the face of demands from certain quarters in Umno.
Loke said if Ismail Sabri, who is an Umno vice-president, was brave enough to hold elections during the monsoon season, voters will punish him for such a decision.
“We advise the prime minister not to be alarmed because of (Umno president Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) making these demands (to hold the general election soon).
“I have said in Parliament. Ismail Sabri, you are PM. Act like one, and not a party follower,” said Loke (above) in a speech today during a special party congress at the Ideal Convention Centre Shah Alam, in Selangor.
This comes after Zahid, who is also the BN chairperson, adamantly called for the national polls to be carried out this year despite possible floods.
That same day, Ismail Sabri also said the general election is “not too far away”, adding that the matter will be discussed soon.
Anti hopping amendment
Loke raised the issue of anti-party hopping which he said was a “non-negotiable” term in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) which was signed in August 2021 between Pakatan Harapan and Ismail Sabri’s federal administration.
He said this move is to restore the confidence of Malaysians in the country’s political system and faith in its elections.
Additionally, he addressed rumours that DAP had become supporters of the BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led government following the signing of the MOU.
“I am aware that after the MOU was signed, many members and supporters of ours felt concerned and confused over why party leadership had agreed to this MOU with the government. Have we started supporting BN and PN?
“There are those who accuse us of being sellouts in order to get constituency allocations.
“The success of the (anti-party hopping) amendment to the Federal Constitution shows all these allegations against us were untrue and baseless,” he said today.
He also said this showed that the decision made by the party’s top leaders led by former secretary-general Lim Guan Eng at the time was “brave” and “strategic”.
DAP is looking to amend the party’s constitution today to insert provisions stripping the membership of any of its MP or state assemblypersons who do not follow party decisions.
This was decided in connection with the Anti-Party Hopping Bill, which the Dewan Rakyat passed on July 28.
Expulsion from party
The first amendment will see any member of DAP who is an MP, state assemblyperson, or appointed senator cease to be a party member if they fail to comply with directives issued by the party’s central executive committee (CEC).
The second amendment will add a provision that states the CEC may issue specific directives to any of its elected representatives at the Dewan Rakyat, state assemblies, or appointed senators.
During the second reading of the anti-hopping bill in the Dewan Rakyat in July, de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar explained an MP is free to support a different party, including when voting in Parliament.
Such an action would not constitute party hopping as long as they remain in their original political party, he said.
However, he explained the scenario would be different if the party constitution bans such an action, and makes one automatically “cease” to be a member once the rule is breached. - Mkini
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