PKR Youth urges Syed Saddiq to vacate seat after govt bloc exit

PKR Youth wants Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to vacate his Parliament seat following the latter’s decision to leave the government bloc in the Dewan Rakyat.

Its information chief Haziq Azfar Ishak said this is because Muda won the Muar seat on the back of support from Pakatan Harapan.

“His victory in Muar was not on his personal capacity or Muda as a third force, but because Muda was in an electoral pact with Harapan.

“His failure to vacate the seat would be an act of stealing the Muar Parliament seat by becoming a third force as well as a betrayal of the people’s mandate, which chose Muda due to the electoral pact with Harapan,” Haziq said in a statement today.

Syed Saddiq announced today that he will quit the government bloc in Parliament, to become a third force - meaning he would not join Perikatan Nasional.

The decision was relayed to Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul.

The move did not trigger the anti-hopping law as Muda contested on its own ticket instead of a Harapan one.

Haziq, in justifying his call for Syed Saddiq to vacate the Muar seat, cited the case of Umno veteran Shahrir Samad.

In 1988, after being sacked from Umno, Shahrir resigned as Johor Bahru MP, triggering a by-election which he then won as an independent.

“Syed Saddiq is urged to do the same,” the PKR Youth leader said.

In 1990 - two years after Shahrir’s actions - the then-government amended the Federal Constitution to bar MPs who resigned from their seats from contesting an election for five years.

However, this rule was removed last year as part of anti-hopping reforms.

Muda to support reform bills

Muda decided to pull support from the government - thereby leaving Putrajaya one seat short of a two-thirds majority - in protest against prosecutors withdrawing corruption charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

However, Muda will support the government when reform bills are tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and need two-thirds support to pass.

Meanwhile, an Amanah Youth leader voiced a dissenting opinion to that of PKR Youth on the Muar seat matter.

For Amanah Youth exco member Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda, it was enough that Syed Saddiq was no longer on the government bloc.

“No more by-elections!” he exclaimed, adding that youths were tired of politicking and power struggles.

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