SUSPENDING the membership of nine Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) MPs who called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be established on the judiciary issue will leave the party with only 22 seats.
Former PKR Deputy President Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said that even suspending his membership and that of the eight MPs would not solve the problem because they were paid by the people to speak out and they would continue to.
According to him, the suspension would also give the impression that there is no room for democracy in the party, especially when there are MPs like Hassan Abdul Karim who have been more critical of the Prime Minister before and have not been subject to any action.
"There is a call for me and eight other PKR MPs who initiated the recommendation for the establishment of an RCI on the judiciary be suspended.
"Many branch leaders across the country are racing to issue media statements demanding that we be suspended.
"PKR Secretary-General Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said she would present it to the Central Leadership Council soon. I just noticed this ... ordinary party members are also noticing.
"My advice is, if you are playing chess, before getting excited about eating your opponent, first look at the rules of the game," he said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Previously, there was pressure from several parties in PKR, including branch leaders in Johor and Kedah, for disciplinary action includig suspension to be taken against Rafizi and the eight PKR MPs.
This follows their criticism of appointments in the judiciary seen as giving a bad image to the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR President.
The Pandan MP stressed that if PKR's seats were reduced, the party's number of seats would be fewer than several other parties in the Madani Government coalition.
"Suspending nine MPs leaves PKR with 22 seats, (a number) fewer than DAP, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)," he said.
Rafizi said that PKR branch-level leaders from the new generation that won after the recent party elections need to know that the party involved was not built by keeping quiet.
He claimed that PKR appears dynamic because it always moves organically and gives space to anyone to bring up the people's issues without following the hierarchy or party positions.
He said that the party was also popular with the people before because it was the fastest and loudest to speak out on the people's issues.
"That is our old practice until PKR succeeded in forming a government and opened up opportunities for new leaders like these branch heads to hold positions," he said. - July 17, 2025
