Four Bersatu MPs request change in seating in Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: The four Bersatu Members of Parliament(MP) who pledged support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will remain as Perikatan Nasional lawmakers for now despite requesting a seating change in the Dewan Rakyat.

Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul confirmed that he has received a written notice and said that he will make a decision in the near future, possibly after the Deepavali break.

He said the anti-hopping law has clearly spelt out how a seat is lost.

“They pledged support. They did not cross (to the government bloc). That does not mean anything. Some support quietly and some do it openly,” he said at a press conference on Thursday (Nov 9).

“The law does not restrict anyone from pledging support. It does not mean a loss of seats(for Perikatan Nasional).”

“Some have requested to change their sitting position because they were not comfortable sitting with their old friend. That is my prerogative. I can make some changes,” he said.

However, he did not reveal where the four MPs had requested to move.

“It is not decided where they will be relocated,” he said when asked if they have requested to be moved to the government backbench.

Johari said he has yet to meet the four MPs.

“I will contact them and accommodate them like I accommodated Muar (Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman),” he said.

Johari added that it does not affect the “stability” of the Dewan Rakyat as it is not a case of party hopping.

“This could just be a purely political or non-political expression. I do not know. They have their rights who they want to support. It is not linked to administrative (matters),” he added.

Recently, Bersatu’s Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid and Labuan MP Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman declared support for Anwar, saying that they did so to gain extra allocations for their constituencies.

Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin later announced that Suhaili and Iskandar had been suspended from the party for four and six years, respectively, by the party;s disciplinary board.

On Nov 7, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim became the third Bersatu MP to declare support to Anwar’s leadership.

On Nov 8, Bersatu was struck by another similar incident where Jeli MP Zahari Kechik became the fourth Bersatu MP who pledged support to Anwar.

Observers are anticipating more Bersatu MPs to follow suit in pledging support for Anwar.