KUALA LUMPUR – Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan has spoken out against former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call for exemptions to lawmakers who were sacked or left their party on the basis of “principles”.
In a snarky response to the Pagoh MP’s statement during yesterday’s Dewan Rakyat debate to amend the federal constitution, the up-and-coming politician hinted that many Umno MPs who defected to Bersatu after the 2018 General Election did so to be on the winning side.
“Many representatives who hopped since the 14th general election (GE14) didn’t do it out of principles. It is impossible for them to believe in the party’s causes before May 9th, 2018 but on May 10th, 2018, they began to feel skeptical,” Shahril alluded to the Umno frogs in a statement today.
“They weren’t sacked or forced to choose another home. But (they left) because they don’t want to be an opposition MP.
“Many won on the ticket of their original home, attained victory based on the machineries of their original party but since GE14, their party became the opposition, they did not want to remain with party leaders and rebuild their homes.”
Shahril also described the actions of the Umno defectors as a “betrayal” instead of leaving over “principles”.
Furthermore, he accused Muhyiddin’s attempt in the lower House yesterday as nothing more than a “smokescreen”, to divert attention away from the real reason as to why the proposed anti-hopping law received so much traction during this parliamentary term.
Since 2018, a large number of federal and state lawmakers have been hopping parties which has led to the collapse of several state administrations, as well as the federal administration after the notorious Sheraton Move led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020.
It was triggered when a Bersatu faction led by Muhyiddin and PKR defectors under Datuk Seri Azmin Ali formed a new coalition, usurping Putrajaya with then opposition parties PAS and Umno. – The Vibes, April 12, 2022
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