KUALA LUMPUR – Umno’s Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has once again called for the proposed anti-hopping bill to be expedited and gazetted into law, and for the prime minister to sack party-hoppers like Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin to preserve the public’s trust in Malaysian democracy.
The Umno president said defectors like Zuraida, who today resigned from the cabinet and left Bersatu for greenhorn Parti Bangsa Malaysia, only serve to strengthen the perception that MPs and lawmakers are free to switch between parties without reprisal.
He said ongoing defections would cause further disappointment among the electorate, suggesting voter turnout would drop if the tabling of the anti-hopping bill is not sped up.
“Such actions only cause the people’s confidence in their representatives and political parties to wane further. It is as though they are just being toyed with,” he said in a Facebook post this morning.
Zahid then urged fellow party member Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to take the issue seriously and to come down hard on defectors like Zuraida.
“The prime minister must see this as a serious issue and no longer compromise with anyone that hops and then remains in the cabinet.”
He said letting such defections go unpunished only reflects the government’s commitment towards introducing the new law ahead of its tabling at an upcoming special parliamentary sitting slated for June 7.
“There are many other members of Parliament who have been loyal to their parties and never hopped, who should be taken into consideration to take on the portfolio held by Zuraida.”
Before becoming a Bersatu leader, Zuraida was PKR vice-president but later defected with a cluster of 11 MPs led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who was then PKR deputy president.
Their defection to Bersatu came about during the Sheraton Move in February 2020 which led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
Prior to resigning today, Zuraida served as housing and local government minister under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, before being reshuffled under Ismail Sabri’s administration. – The Vibes, May 26, 2022
