Amira Aisya's appointment letter signed by Muda president, not PH – Analyst
MOHD FAIZUL HAIKA MAT KHAZI
SHAH ALAM - Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz does not need to vacate Puteri Wangsa state seat even though Muda had announced an exit from Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Razak Technology and Informatics Faculty Premier Centre senior lecturer Associate Professor Dr Mazlan Ali said that even though Amira had won in Puteri Wangsa thanks to PH especially Amanah who had given her a chance to compete there, there was no obligation for her to vacate the seat.
According to the academician, it was Amira's call whether she wanted to remain as an assemblyman for Muda which was currently in the opposition bloc or join Amanah as advised by Johor PH deputy chairman Aminolhuda Hassan.
He said that with the anti-party hopping enactment not yet fully enforced in Johor, Amira had no problem migrating to Amanah, thus returning to become an assemblyman of the unity government bloc at the state assembly meeting next week.
"Although Aminolhuda's statement seemed to be in line with the anti-party hopping law, it must be remembered that Muda only informally established political cooperation with PH when the party participated in the Johor election and the 15th General Election (GE15) with the candidate appointment letter still being signed by Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
"The situation might have been different if PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or Amanah president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu had signed her election letter as a candidate for PH component parties in the previous state election. If that was what happened, only then Amira would have to vacate Puteri Wangsa state seat because she had already announced to withdraw support from PH," he told Sinar Premium.
Meanwhile, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) political analyst Associate Professor Dr Khairol Anuar Kamri insisted that Muda's decision to retract support from the unity government in Putrajaya and Johor was the party's right.
However, Khairol found that Muda is not strong enough to be the third force in any state assembly and parliament session.
"Therefore, I figured that whether they like it or not, Muda needs to choose a political alliance either Perikatan Nasional (PN) or PH to remain relevant in the next election," he explained.
Previously, Aminolhuda gave Amira an ultimatum to either join Amanah or resign, thereby vacating Puteri Wangsa's seat in the near future.
Last Monday, Muda was reported to have left the PH bloc in Johor after deciding to leave the coalition.
The action followed Syed Saddiq announcement of Muda's official departure from the government bloc to become a third force in the opposition.
