Anwar's legacy marred by 'backstabbing' reform promise: PSM

UPDATED 4.46PM | Added Muda’s comments.

PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s legacy has been marred by “backstabbing” his promises of reform.

In particular, the failure of Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul to vacate the seats of former Bersatu MPs has killed the anti-hopping law, Arutchelvan said in a statement.

“Sadly Anwar’s legacy will be marred and remembered for backstabbing the promise of reforms.

“Not only has he been slow in bringing reforms, he had with this move eroded existing reforms by the previous government,” he said.

Johari had rejected Bersatu’s bid to vacate five seats, arguing that the party’s forfeiture clause went against the Federal Constitution and Parliament’s guarantee that MPs have the freedom to speak, debate, and vote.

The ruling could mean that the loophole plugs employed by DAP and Umno, which are similar to Bersatu’s, are also defective.

The anti-hopping law does not apply to MPs who are sacked by their party but the three parties amended their constitution to automatically forfeit the membership of lawmakers who go against party directives, thus triggering the legislation.

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But in the case of Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Johari said he would not make a ruling to avoid interfering with legal proceedings as the lawmaker is challenging his expulsion in court.

This also sets a precedent that MPs can delay a ruling on whether their seats are vacated by filing suits against their parties.

Meanwhile, Arutchelvan further said that Harapan had failed to make the ethical choice.

“They (Pakatan Harapan) wanted people to tolerate and understand when (Deputy Prime Minister) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, they wanted people to understand why the prime minister needs to be the finance minister and the list goes on,” he said.

He added that Harapan has no guarantee that the six MPs would not betray the government, given that they had already broken ranks with Bersatu to gain allocations for their constituencies.

‘Why not go to the polls?’

Further, he criticised the six MPs for not contesting in by-elections.

“If the action of the six was indeed to get allocation for their voters, then why not go back to the polls to prove that your voters supported your move?

“Instead of doing that, the six MPs have cowardly taken shelter behind the Madani umbrella rather than the people who voted them in,” he added.

Meanwhile, Muda in a separate statement also questioned Johari’s decision, saying it was a dangerous political strategy.

“This outrageous decision discarded the principle that passed the anti-party-hopping law and paved the way for the Sheraton Move episode, which brought down the Harapan government in 2020 and plunged Malaysia into political instability,” the youth-led party asserted.

It cautioned that the move would set a precedent for other representatives to prioritise political gain.

Upholding the anti-hopping law would also maintain voter confidence and choice, ensuring that political games do not override democratic principles, it added.

Speaker sets bad precedent

Muda also questioned the role of the Dewan Rakyat speaker, who should act as a neutral figure responsible only for confirming seat vacancies and not ruling on the constitutionality of party rules.

“By going beyond this administrative role, the speaker risks appearing biased and this decision will be referred to as a precedent forever.

“This will undermine the integrity of our parliamentary democracy,” it added.

It called on Anwar, along with leaders from BN and Harapan, to strengthen the equity and integrity behind the speaker’s role.

Johari’s decision has also been criticised by Bersih, which called it a mistake.

The electoral watchdog asserted that the speaker erred in understanding the mechanism of the anti-hopping law and disregarded the principles and intentions behind the enactment, which may lead to political instability in the future.

Besides Suhaili, the other five former Bersatu MPs are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang).

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