Speaker's decision on turncoat reps can backfire on govt, Shahrir says

Umno veteran Shahrir Samad has warned that Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul’s decision to allow six Bersatu turncoat representatives to keep their seats could backfire on the government.

Taking to Facebook, Shahrir took a swipe at what he described as a decision not based on principle, but “for self-interest”.

“So don’t be surprised if the same situation can backfire,” said Shahrir, a former Johor Bahru MP who remains an Umno loyalist but has emerged as a critic of what he termed “dishonest power”.

“Now there is nothing to prevent a change of support without leaving the party.

“They (MP) didn’t ‘hop’ (leave party), but they terkeluar (left by accident) because they supported the prime minister’s leadership,” he said.

Act of defiance

The six MPs previously declared support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in defiance of the party’s stance as the opposition.

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).

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today confirmed that Johari ruled the six MPs will get to keep their seats, and gave a “flimsy excuse” that he was reluctant to vacate the Labuan seat as Suhaili had initiated a court case against Bersatu.

As for the other five MPs, in Johari’s letter sighted by Malaysiakini, the speaker argued that the rule Bersatu used to forfeit their memberships had violated their constitutional rights and the Parliament rule that guaranteed their freedom to speak, debate, and vote.

Citing Johari’s reported arguments, Shahrir said the opposite situation could see government MPs withdrawing support for the prime minister without leaving their respective parties.

“This decision doesn’t ensure political stability,” stressed the former BN backbenchers chief in Parliament.

As an MP, Shahrir first won the Johor Bahru parliamentary seat in 1978, after a stint as political secretary to former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein and former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam.

He rose through the ranks as deputy minister and a full minister in 1987, but was fired in the series of events leading up to Malaysia’s constitutional crisis in 1988.

He held a record for vacating his Johor Bahru parliamentary seat in 1988 and winning it again in the resulting by-election as an Independent candidate.

Shahrir rejoined Umno a year later in the aftermath of the Malaysian constitutional crisis - sat out of three general elections in 1990, 1995 and 1999 - before reclaiming the seat for another three terms until 2018 when he lost to the then PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir. - Mkini