PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has reaffirmed that the Islamist party’s MPs will remain loyal to the party and its leadership amid the recent defections in its ally party Bersatu.
Tuan Ibrahim is confident that PAS lawmakers will not support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration despite the fact that three Bersatu MPs had recently pledged their support for Anwar’s administration, citing constituency interests in aligning with the prime minister.
“If you want to say it’s been tough, it’s not really a financial matter. Compared to what we have received, and the people’s needs, I think dignity is more important,” the Kubang Kerian MP was reported as saying by Malaysiakini today (Nov 8).
Tuan Ibrahim’s comment came after Gua Musang MP Datuk Mohd Azizi Abu Naim became the latest Bersatu MP after Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid and Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman to give their support to Anwar’s administration.
Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin recently announced that Iskandar and Suhaili had been suspended from the party for four and six years respectively by the party’s disciplinary board committee, and that they had also been relieved of all positions in the party.
Meanwhile, Tuan Ibrahim also said that PAS had spoken to Bersatu about the issue and is confident that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s party will be able to handle the matter.
“There were several actions taken by Bersatu on its MPs, some were suspended from their membership and all.
“They are Bersatu representatives, so it’s a membership issue, we will leave it to Bersatu to handle the matter,” Tuan Ibrahim, who is also the Cheka assemblyman said.
In another development, an UMNO leader had labelled Mohd Azizi’s recent move to support Anwar’s administration as a tactic to receive allocations and projects.
Kelantan UMNO deputy information chief Noor Hariri Mohamed Noor described it as a “diversion game” and expressed hope that the move would not cloud the prime minister’s vision in his bid to strengthen his position.
“Kelantan UMNO is not surprised at all by Mohd Azizi’s statement last night (Nov 7), by using the excuse that the decision he had made was for the benefit of his constituents,” Hariri was quoted as saying by Harian Metro today (Nov 8).
“For me, this is a deliberate move by Perikatan Nasional (PN) as the Bersatu trio will only get the party’s membership suspended rather than being expelled in order to safeguard their status as MPs.
“The prime minister must consider factors such as the sincerity and loyalty of the trio of Bersatu MPs. As the saying goes, ‘divorced but still living under the same roof’.” – Nov 8, 2023
Main pic credit: Astro Awani
