KUALA LUMPUR – There is nothing Bersatu can do against its six parliamentarians who pledged their support for Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim, even though the opposition outfit aims to revise its party constitution next month.
Political analyst associate professor Mazlan Ali told Scoop that Bersatu has no legal standing as the support declarations were made prior to party constitution amendments.
“Bersatu has missed the boat, which means the amendment to the party constitution will not affect the six MPs.
“They are safe until the end of the government’s term. The amendment cannot be imposed retroactively and will only impact existing MPs who did not switch support.”
Mazlan said the party leadership should have acted swiftly to amend Bersatu’s constitution when speculations arose of more of its MPs looking to back the prime minister.
“Bersatu’s position (in the opposition bloc) will be more shaky if it decides to fire the six MPs.
“In fact, we can conclude from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim’s recent decree that he wished for the unity government to serve its full term until 2027.
“So, the opposition’s efforts to topple the government, such as Langkah Dubai, is irrelevant. They will need to wait for the next general election.”
Meanwhile, Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Azmi Hassan told Scoop elected reps, as well as the public, have the right to associate and state their support for whoever they deem fit.
“For example, Umno members who contest in elections are required to sign a letter of agreement to support every decision of the president, but Bersatu does not have this in its constitution yet.
“It is unlikely those six MPs will resign as they will automatically lose their seats as per the anti-hopping law.”
Yesterday, Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the six MPs would have to be ready for action to be taken against them after the party amends its constitution during the general assembly on March 2.
Similarly, party information chief Datuk Razali Idris claimed that the amendments would be imposed on the six MPs as they remain Bersatu members.
“The general assembly is focused on amending Article 10 of the constitution, which will see memberships revoked for elected reps who no longer support the party.”
Earlier, six Bersatu MPs publicly announced their support for Anwar, while remaining in their party.
They are Datuk Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang); Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang); Zahari Kechik (Jeli); Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang); Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) and Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan). – February 19, 2024