By Clara Chooi - THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Twelve PKR MPs pledged loyalty to their party as a third lawmaker quit to be independent, shrinking the opposition bench to 80 in parliament.
The 12 blamed Umno and Barisan Nasional for attempting to divide the party by spreading rumours that more PKR representatives would be jumping ship.
Teluk Kemang MP Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas, who led the press conference at the PKR headquarters here and spoke on behalf of the 12, said that they strongly rejected the allegations that some of them would soon defect.
“The reality here is that Umno and Barisan is feeling threatened by the second wave of support for Pakatan Rakyat’s leadership, especially with PKR de facto leader (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial,” he said.
He added that all the 12 MPs had signed a statement pledging their loyalty to the party, a move that was made voluntarily.
“We would like to stress that our struggle is to defend Pakatan’s principle of justice. We would also like to declare that our support for Anwar as the PKR de facto leader is undivided,” he said.
The 12 comprised PKR backbenchers who do not hold posts in the party’s top leadership.
Among them are Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff, Kelana Jaya MP Gwo-Burne Loh, Kuala Langat MP Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, Indera Mahkota MP Azan Ismail, Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishnan and Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam.
Gobalakrishnan and Loh were not present at the press conference due to other commitments.
The other MPs are Kuala Kedah MP Ahmad Kassim, Ketereh MP Ab Aziz Kadir, Merbok MP Datuk Rashid Din, Tanah Merah MP Amran Ab Ghani and Petaling Jaya South MP Hee Loy Sian.
Just as the 12 were pledging their loyalty, Bagan Serai MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri announced his departure from PKR to become an independent at a separate function.
He is the third PKR MP to leave the party, after MPs Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Tan Tee Beng made their respective announcements.
Talk is rife that more are expected to follow soon.
When asked if the other remaining 16 MPs in the party were expected to hold similar press conferences to pledge their loyalty, Kamarul said, “Suffice to say that for today, they are with us”.
He said that he “did not think” more MPs would leave PKR but added that even if it happened, none of the 12 who made their pledges today would be the ones defecting.
He also noted that the controversial Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin had not signed the pledge for the latter was still under inquiry by the party’s disciplinary panel.
“His case is still pending with the board so we will let the process be carried out first,” said Kamarul.
He would not commit if the rumours that Zulkifli would likely be the next in the party’s lengthening list of defectors were true but said that “as a team, we hope that Zul will be with us”.
Kamarul also rebutted claims by the recent defectors that there was no room for dissent in the PKR.
“I do not think there are constraints there. The expression of opinion is open and problems can be resolved through discussions. The expression of our views is acceptable to the leadership of the PKR,” he said.
Yusmadi, who was one of the MPs speculated to leave, pointed out that the present spate of defections was a result of fault-finding and framing.
“As an inexperienced MP, I think that we have plenty to learn. We must remember that our voters gave us their trust,” he said.
Meanwhile, the departure of the three MPs to date has led to the dwindling of PKR’s representation in the Parliament from an initial 31 MPs, the most among the three Pakatan parties, to a mere 28 - same with that of the DAP.
Although questions have been raised over Anwar’s position as Opposition Leader, statements made by PAS and DAP yesterday showed that the former deputy prime minister would remain in the post.
Kamarul reiterated that point again today and said that Anwar’s position as the Opposition Leader would not be taken away.
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