KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia today approved an amendment to its party constitution, in order to close a “loophole” where six MPs voiced support for rival politician Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim without leaving the party.
Bersatu supreme council member Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan said all delegates at Bersatu’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) had this afternoon unanimously approved the amendment to the party constitution.
“This amendment is important as there is a loophole which had been exploited by six Bersatu Dewan Rakyat members. They changed their support but remained as Bersatu members. With this amendment, that loophole has been closed,” he said in a statement on his Facebook account.
He said the EGM had shown how much Bersatu no longer wanted these “traitors” to remain in the party and said that party members were disappointed at and angry with these six MPs, adding that these six individuals should leave the party now if they still have dignity since the party no longer wants them.
“I urge the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to immediately approve this amendment so that it can be enforced immediately,” he said, urging against “political interference” from making this process of approval being slowed down.
Wan Saiful also urged the Dewan Rakyat speaker to be fair to declare the six MPs’ seats vacated once Bersatu takes the next step.
“There is no reason why the six traitors’ seats are not vacated. Let there not be anyone who creates excuses to protect them,” he said.
When contacted by Malay Mail, Wan Saiful confirmed that Bersatu members agreed today to add three sub-clauses into the party’s constitution.
These three sub-clauses include Article 10.4, where any Bersatu members who are Dewan Rakyat members or state legislative assembly members who do not comply with any orders issued by the party’s supreme council in line with Article 10.5 are considered to have their membership from Bersatu ceased immediately.
The other new sub-clause is Article 10.5 where the Bersatu supreme council can issue any orders specifically any or all of its Dewan Rakyat members or state legislative assembly members and that all such orders made under Article 10.5 have to be done in writing.
The third sub-clause approved by Bersatu delegates today at the EGM is: In reference to Article 10.4, the secretary-general on the supreme council’s orders is to issue a notice to the relevant member to notify the member that their membership has ceased immediately and that their name has been removed from Bersatu’s party membership registry system.
In a video clip posted by news outlet Astro Awani on the social media platform X, Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin explained that the agreed amendments to the party’s constitution today would result in MPs or state legislative members ceasing to be party members if they act beyond the party’s policies, adding that this fits the six MPs’ situation.
He said the Bersatu party constitution amendments today is in line with the Federal Constitution’s Article 49A, and that the ceasing of Bersatu party membership for such MPs or state legislative members would trigger the anti-hopping law contained in Article 49A.
“Meaning when they are not members, their seat will become vacant. When it is vacant, it will be informed to the Election Commission so election for all seats involved will be held,” he said, adding that this was the purpose for the new amendments to Bersatu’s party constitution.
Muhyiddin explained that Bersatu’s party constitution previously did not have such clauses and the party could only suspend these MPs’ membership as a disciplinary action.
Following the approval of these amendments by Bersatu’s EGM today, Muhyiddin said the party would apply to the RoS for the amendments to be approved.
Muhyiddin said once RoS approves the amendments to Bersatu’s constitution, the party would immediately enforce these rules and Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin would then write to all six Bersatu members to say, “We want to know if it is verified or true that they support ‘PMX’, if they say yes, then it would be effected as provided in our constitution that their seats must be vacated.”
PMX refers to the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the president of Bersatu’s political rival PKR.
Once all the above happens, Muhyiddin also said he hopes the Dewan Rakyat speaker would then inform the EC about the six MPs’ parliamentary seats becoming vacant and also expressed hope that the EC would then fix a date for by-election for all six seats.
“I see that the party members agree with our action, and we have already started making preparations for all areas involved to have by-elections held,” he said in the video clip.
Astro Awani also reported Muhyiddin as saying there was no issue of whether the new Bersatu party constitution amendments would have a retrospective effect, as those six MPs are currently still Bersatu members and had not been expelled.
Astro Awani reported Muhyiddin as saying the six individuals’ party membership would automatically cease and that their parliamentary seats would become vacant, once the amendments are approved and take effect.
