Pasir Mas Ibrahim Ali's lonely 'independent' sojourn will soon end as he will be joined by four parliamentarians come the third session of Dewan Rakyat, which will begin next week.

parliament sitting arrangement 120310 ibrahim ali and independent mps In order to accommodate newly minted independents - Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai) who resigned from PKR as well as the recently sacked Kulim Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin - the Parliament has rearranged the location of their seats.

Parliament secretary Rosmee Hamzah today gave a media briefing on the seating arrangements of former PKR parliamentarians hinting that it was to make things “more comfortable” for the MPs.

parliament seating arrangement 120310 According to Rosmee, the seating arrangements will become permanent from Tuesday onwards since Dewan Negara representatives will be with their Dewan Rakyat colleagues in a joint session on Monday for the royal address.

Zahrain, Tan and Mohsin will be seated behind 'senior' independent Ibrahim, while Zulkifli will be seated beside Sabah Progressive Party's (SAPP) MPs Eric E Majimbun (Sepanggar) and Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) in Block F of the Dewan Rakyat chamber.

SAPP not part of ‘independent block’

Zahrain quit PKR on Feb 12 after he expressed his dissatisfaction with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, whom he claimed to be “dictatorial” in his leadership.

parliament sitting arrangement 120310 zahrain and tan tee beng Tan followed suit on March 1, also saying that he was discontented with Penang state leadership, especially Penang deputy chief minister II P Ramasamy and Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi.

Meanwhile, Mohsin resigned two days later . Among his reasons was the party's stand on the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims. PKR is of the view that the word is not exclusive to Muslims.

azlan Meanwhile, Zulkifli was booted out for violating party orders when he had lodged a police report against another Pakatan MP and for his public criticisms against fellow opposition coalition members.

Although SAPP abandoned the ruling coalition in September 2008, their representatives are adamant not to be labelled as independents as they still represent their own party.