KUALA LUMPUR: The six former Bersatu MPs will continue to serve as independents after Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul ruled that they will keep their parliamentary seats despite ceasing to be members of the party.
Speaking to the media Thursday (July 11) on behalf of the six, Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman said they will not join another party.
“Article 49(A) of the Federal Constitution is clear.
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"We cannot join another party as it will trigger Article 49(A),” he said, referring to the anti-party hopping law.
“We were only fighting for allocation to serve the people in our constituencies, (and) this has resulted in us becoming independents,” he added.
He said they clearly stated in their letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul that they remain loyal members of Bersatu, under which they were elected.
“But the leadership of the party did not accept that. We explained that we stated support for the government (to get) allocations,” he said, adding that their party was unable to resolve the allocation problem.
He lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for “fulfilling his promise early.”
“The party was not able to give us any allocations. We asked our president. We waited for a year. All we got was empty promises,” he said.
On their parliamentary seats, Suhaili said there have been no changes so far and it is up to the Speaker whether or not they will have to change seating positions.
“We will comply (with whatever the Speaker decides on where we sit)," he said.
Suhaili said the six took their oath as lawmakers before the Speaker and so they have the right to continue their responsibilities as MPs.
He urged Bersatu leaders to stop politicking and work together for political stability to help the country recover from the impact of Covid-19 and global economic headwinds.
In his ruling, Johari said Clause 10.5 of the Bersatu constitution denies the six MPs their rights as enshrined under the Federal Constitution, the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders and the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952.
The ruling was conveyed in a letter dated Tuesday (July 9) to Bersatu whip Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee that was sighted by The Star.
Under Bersatu’s amended constitution, the six ceased to be members and had to vacate their seats after failing to respond to official letters requiring them to pledge loyalty to the party by May 31.
The other five MPs are Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Syed Abu Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang) and Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang).
