Bersatu's move to sack its renegade representatives would not trigger a by-election, but would instead weaken its bargaining power with its coalition partners.
Experts interviewed by Malaysiakini said the six MPs and one state assemblyperson will remain as independent members if ejected by Bersatu, which will cause the party to lose seven elected representatives.
"If Bersatu loses these six MPs, it won’t change much in terms of the political strength of the opposition, since they have already pledged support to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
"But this will bring into question Bersatu MPs' loyalty vis-à-vis PAS MPs', and further reduce Bersatu’s negotiation power with PAS within Perikatan Nasional.
“(It will) entrench PAS as the big brother in PN,” said International Islamic University Malaysia associate professor of political science Syaza Shukri.
She was referring to Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal’s statement on Sunday saying that his party will inform Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul in this month’s sitting of the six MPs’ party membership revocation.
He was responding to queries on the actions taken against the seven elected representatives who did not respond to the letter issued by Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin to all party members demanding affirmation of their loyalty by Friday (May 31).
Bersatu is seeking to vacate the seats of the turncoat MPs, with party deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu reportedly saying on May 17 that it was doing so by filing a notice to the Dewan Rakyat.
This is by declaring that the six had forfeited their party membership by rebelling against the party.
The six MPs are Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang).
Selat Klang assemblyperson Abdul Rashid Asari also announced his support for the unity government.
Meanwhile, Syaza cautioned that the matter was still uncharted territory.
No legal basis
Similarly, political analyst from the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research (NASR) Azmi Hassan said there was no legal basis for the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to remove the Bersatu MPs from their seats.
He added that the amended constitutional amendment against hopping parties only impacts situations in which elected representatives quit their party, not those who have been sacked.
“In this case, the six have been sacked from the party and it is silent in the constitution what happens to the seats,” he said.
The most probable situation is one in which the six MPs elect to remain independent of any parties, which will lose Bersatu the involved seats, he added.
Lawyer Baljit Singh Sidhu explained how this works, saying that there is no actual anti-hopping law outside of the amendments in the Federal Constitution.
“We don’t have that law, so on that score, you’ll find that the candidates will still stay in their constituency and do their jobs,” he told Malaysiakini.
This means that there is no hard and fast rule governing what happens to parliamentary seats upon an elected representative ceasing to be a member of a party, he said.
“In Malaysia, we have a situation where if you change your political party, it doesn’t affect your seat, (because) the seat is basically under your name,” he added.
On May 5, amendments to the Federal Constitution, informally known as the anti-hopping law, came into force.
It prevents Dewan Rakyat members from jumping parties, a bipartisan response to the infamous Sheraton Move, which led to the collapse of the previous Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.
In November, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), in response to four Bersatu MPs pledging support to Anwar at the time, said the event revealed the ineffectiveness of the constitution’s anti-hopping provisions.
The expulsion of the MPs from Bersatu would still allow them to retain their seats due to a loophole created by the mentioned provision, it said.
By-elections
However, political scientist Wong Chin Huat said that the latest development in Bersatu’s handling of the issue will lead to by-elections in Bukit Gantang, Kuala Kangsar, Labuan, Tanjong Karang, and Selat Klang.
This is because the four MPs and one state assemblyperson were elected as PN members and their membership in the coalition came from Bersatu, he explained.
“(They) were elected as members of PN, as per Article 49A(1).
"As their PN membership was derived from Bersatu membership, they now cease to be PN members, and the speakers - Johari and Ng Swee Lim - should write to the Election Commission about their seat vacancy within 21 days of receiving the notification from Bersatu,” he said in a statement.
Article 49A(1) states that the seat of an MP will be vacated if they resign or cease to be a member of the party they were part of when elected.
Wong added that Jeli and Gua Musang would not see by-elections as their MPs were not elected to the Dewan Rakyat as either Bersatu or PAS members.
The duo - and PN as a whole - had contested in Kelantan using the PAS ticket, despite being Bersatu members.
"Ironically, since they cease to be members of Bersatu, they are now free to join any political party, which they can also leave anytime without losing their seats,” he commented. - Mkini
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