Labuan MP: I did not abandon ship, it abandoned me

Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman has no regrets as he indicated that he will likely defend his Parliament seat despite being slapped with a six-year suspension from Bersatu.

Suhaili reportedly said that his support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration while remaining loyal to Bersatu would not mark the end of his political career.

"Why should I feel guilty? I did not betray the party as I am still loyal to the party.

"I did not abandon ship. The ship abandoned me when the leadership decided to suspend me for six years. So, which is which?” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Suhaili also claimed he had "stronger support" in Labuan after he explained to Bersatu members in his division - prior to his suspension - that he would remain with the party.

“Come next general election, I can contest under any logo, and God willing, I will win as I did this for the sake of the people,” he said.

Given how he was treated by Bersatu's leadership, Suhaili said any further meetings with them would be unlikely.

'Doing the right thing'

Suhaili insisted that he was doing the right thing for his constituents who would now receive RM3 million in annual allocations, aside from other funds channelled on a quarterly basis with strict guidelines on their usage.

"I am only doing the right thing. I checked with my constituents a few months before I made the announcement.

"I told them that when 12 months are up from my elected date and if I have yet to receive the funds, I will support the government for the sake of the allocations.

“I cannot keep giving excuses of having no funds because I am in the opposition. In the first year, we could tell them, ‘Don’t worry, next year, we may be in the government. Please wait.’

"But after one year, do I repeat the same story?” he asked.

‘Not bribery’

After Suhaili and three other opposition MPs pledged support for the coalition government, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin last week said the party would lodge reports with the police and MACC, alleging acts of bribery and coercion.

Suhaili, however, dismissed claims that his allegiance to Anwar, in exchange for getting allocations, was a form of bribery.

"This is utter rubbish. How can it be bribery when I asked for allocations openly, in writing, on the day I declared that I would support the prime minister?

“The prime minister himself told Perikatan Nasional to talk with Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof on the allocations for constituencies under opposition MPs.

"The request for allocations was made officially, and the money was channelled through official agencies," Suhaili added.

The three other Bersatu MPs who have backed Anwar are Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang).

This brings the number of MPs aligned to Anwar in Parliament to 150, three more than required for a two-thirds majority.

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