The Malaysian Insight

PKR should not accept party hoppers from its allies in Pakatan Harapan, said Amanah youth leader, Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin, in response to news that the party had accepted five defectors.

Shazni said this is hypocritical and a mockery of democracy, describing the situation as “prostitution”.

“Buying and selling elected representatives is despicable. This act of prostitution is also what caused the PH government to collapse and hamper the governance reform process that was underway at that time,” Shazni said in a statement, referring to the collapse of PH a year ago.

Yesterday, Amanah assemblymen Khairuddin A. Rahim (Senggarang), Faizul Amri Adnan (Serom) and Muhamad Said Jonit (Mahkota), all from Johor, quit the party to join PKR.

Shazni said PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who is also opposition leader, must reject the culture of party hopping which only benefits one side and harms the other. 

Party hopping is “political backstabbing” and should not be encouraged as it would cause more tension among political parties, Shazni added.

Meanwhile, Bukit Bintang Amanah leaders said the party needs to re-evaluate its position in PH after this incident. 

“This scenario further undermines relations and tarnishes the spirit of solidarity between the parties in Pakatan Harapan,” they said in a joint statement.

The statement was issued by six leaders, comprising constituency chief Ahmad Asri Talib and his deputy, Ahmad Thaari Abdul Rahim, and four youth leaders.

The four are Sheikh Khuzaifah (youth leader), Sharifah Juanie (women leader), Fatihah Salahuddin (young women leader), and Ismail Othman (party welfare leader).

They reiterated their regret, as expressed by Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub last night, with PKR’s action of accepting the Amanah assemblymen.

According to Khairuddin, the five applied to join PKR last September and were accepted a month later.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad, who confirmed the matter, was later quoted as saying that the actions of the three assemblymen in Johor did not affect the party’s relationship in PH and with PKR.

Meanwhile, the youth leaders also urged the government to introduce anti-party hopping laws. 

Last year, two Amanah assemblymen in Selangor, namely Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar (Meru) and Ahmad Mustain Othman (Sabak) joined PKR. – February 28, 2021.