The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat’s declaration that Bersatu’s six rogue MPs, who went against the party’s directive to affirm their loyalty to the party, get to keep their seats, raised a storm of protests because it has created a couple of problems.

As a result of the Anti-Hopping Law (AHL) passed in 2022, Article 49A was amended to read: Clause (1) of the new Article 49A provides, inter alia, that a member of the Dewan Rakyat (‘MP’) shall cease to be a member of that House and his seat shall become vacant if the MP:

(a) having been elected to the Dewan Rakyat as a member of a political party, resigns as, or ceases to be, a member of that political party; or

(b) having been elected to the Dewan Rakyat otherwise than as a member of a political party (i.e. an independent candidate), joins a political party as a member.

Article 49A also states that an expelled MP would keep his seat. In the case of the Bersatu 6, they were not expelled. Under the party’s amended rules, Bersatu sent a directive to all its MPs to pledge their loyalty to the party and abide by party decisions. They defied the directive and automatically lost their membership.

Bersatu’s amended law is similar to the DAP’s and Umno’s. These parties amended the laws to prevent their MPs from joining another party.

Speaker Johari Abdul’s justification was that it went against the rights of MPs to free speech.

The consequences of the Speaker’s decision are worrying and it is no wonder that they evoked such angry protests.

Firstly, when a party according to the law terminates an MP’s party membership, can the Speaker overrule it? Secondly, can the Speaker by his decision make a law inoperative? By saying that the Bersatu 6 can keep their seats — though not with the party but elsewhere — isn’t it going against the AHL which clearly states that if MPs cease to be members of the party on whose platform they won the seats, they can’t be MPs and their seats become vacant? How then can the AHL be applied to rebelling MPs? What’s the use of the AHL?

Does the Speaker have the authority to do either? These are some of the issues that the courts will now have to clarify.

The fear is that the Speaker’s decision nullifies the AHL as MPs now can go against party lines and still be MPs and keep their seats. Which suggests that MPs now can skip, hop, jump and leapfrog to join other parties and change the numbers in a coalition.

More than any MP, shouldn’t the Speaker make decisions that clearly uphold the rule of law in an assembly of lawmakers? While, no doubt, the Speaker and, likewise a PM or a king, has discretionary powers shouldn’t those powers be confined within the ambit of the law and executed in the spirit and intent of the law? Anything else is abuse of position.

The question MPs need to ask is not whether the Speaker has discretionary powers but whether those discretionary powers were used according to the rule of law.

If they weren’t, the MPs should find out from their constituents how they are to represent them in the Dewan Rakyat and take every step needed to restore the rule of law in the Dewan Rakyat.

In addition, it appear as if the Speaker made a decision to favour the incumbent government in maintaining a two-thirds majority — and failed to show his neutrality. The loss of the Bersatu 6’s seats will deprive Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government of a two-thirds majority which he needs to amend laws. This is a government without the mandate of the people but in power and therefore may introduce laws not mandated by the people.

MPs need to be wary of any attempt to introduce laws never raised by the people which may be sneakily sprung upon the MPs and passed without debate because the MPs were taken by surprise.

Now, more than ever, MPs need to be on guard because, by a twist of fate, as a result of Johari’s decision, they are free to vote according to their conscience and hold themselves accountable to their constituents.

Bersatu has said it will take the issue to court. While it goes to court, MPs should not be waiting twiddling thumbs. What the Speaker has done is a very serious issue. The law empowers MPs to act in the interests of the people they represent and they should take decisive action to ensure that the Dewan Rakyat upholds the rule of law.

I have only briefly explained the issues here. Malaysiakini carried a number of good articles that covers all the issues regarding Johari’s decision today (July 12, 2024). It is good for us Malaysians to know what these issues are so that we are not taken for a ride.