Bersatu is desperate, says Labuan MP

SHAH ALAM - The decision of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to take legal action against elected representatives who betrayed the party is alleged to be a 'desperate move' to prevent more Members of Parliament from declaring their support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Labuan Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman said this was because the leadership of the party led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin realised that there were still among its representatives who would support the unity government.

However, he said, any effort to amend the party's constitution was not as easy because many processes need to be taken.

"The first process for Bersatu is to hold an extraordinary general meeting to amend the constitution which will take at least three or four months.

"If, for example, within those three months, tomorrow for example another Member of Parliament declares his support for the Prime Minister, what can Bersatu do? To me, in the current situation, Bersatu is clearly desperate.

"For me personally, I don't face a problem if the party wants a constitution (amendment) because I declared my support before there was any effort to amend it. I have already been suspended (membership).

"Constitutional amendments do not apply to the date before and action can only be taken against Members of Parliament who declared after the amendment was approved," he said when contacted by Sinar Harian on Tuesday.

He said this when asked to comment on Bersatu's decision to amend the party's constitution to take legal action against its elected representatives who betrayed the party.

Its Secretary-General on Monday was reported to have said that the matter was decided at a special meeting of the party which took place at its headquarters on Sunday night to prevent acts of betrayal among its representatives from happening again in the future.

Meanwhile, when asked about the allegation that several more members of Bersatu Parliament would express their support for Anwar, Suhaili said that it was not impossible because of their disappointment with the party's leadership.

He said the egoistic attitude of the party leadership to refuse to negotiate with the government regarding the allocation of opposition MPs is very disappointing.

"My decision is a 100 per cent declaration of support for the Prime Minister for the sake of the people and the development of Labuan itself.

"If there is no allocation, what are we the people's representatives for? Members of Parliament (opposition) denied the right of allocation by the government because of the decision of some (Bersatu) leaders. That's all," he said.

Suhaili was the first Bersatu Member of Parliament to declare his support for the Prime Minister before being followed by five others.

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