THE seating for three of the four Bersatu lawmakers who had expressed their support for the Prime Minister have been moved to a new location within the Opposition bloc in the Dewan Rakyat.
Checks on the Parliament official website found that seats for Labuan MP Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Jeli lawmaker Zahari Kechik and Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim are now located away from other Perikatan Nasional lawmakers.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan confirmed the three MPs have had their seats relocated away from other Opposition lawmakers.
“Three out of four (Perikatan) MPs have had their seats in the Dewan Rakyat changed effective Tuesday, 2.30pm. Still within the Opposition bloc but separated from the others,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
However, Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain’s seat remained unchanged.
Attempts to reach out to the lawmaker was still ongoing as of press time.
Perikatan MP for Rompin Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah claimed the Kuala Kangsar MP was comfortable being seated with the rest of the Opposition members.
“The other three might feel uneasy to stay seated with us after declaring their support for the Prime Minister,” he said when approached by The Star.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Ramli Mohd Nor said lawmakers’ seating arrangement was the prerogative of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker and on request from the MP.
According to Standing Order 2, the Speaker of House may allot a seat to every member and may vary such allotments from time to time as he thinks fit.
MP seats shall be allotted at the discretion of the Speaker whose decision is final.
“The (new) arrangements was made based on the request by the MPs,” Ramli said.
On Nov 4, Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul confirmed he had received a written notice from all four Perikatan lawmakers requesting for a seating change.
Meanwhile, Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim questioned why the three lawmakers who had pledged their support for the unity government were relocated further from the Perikatan bloc.
“I am bothered by the relocation of the three MPs. Why were they moved? They did not leave the party but only voiced their support.
“We cannot simply do this as they have yet to quit,” he told the august House.
Deputy Speaker Alice Lau then dismissed the lawmaker’s request for an explanation on the matter.
Iskandar, Suhaili, Mohd Aziz and Zahari had declared their support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, saying that they did so to gain extra allocations for their constituencies.
Bersatu had since suspended Iskandar and Suhaili from the party for four and six years respectively.
