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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s opponent Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) lost a third lawmaker in three weeks after his vice president and former cabinet minister Xavier Jayakumar resigned from the party on Saturday (March 13).
Datuk Xavier has declared his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government as independent.
Although he has been with PKR since its early days in 1998, Xavier said he had been “extremely frustrated” by the events of the past year amid calls for elections, which he described as unnecessary during an ongoing pandemic.
“Our current priority should be to support the government to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, create jobs and secure funds to rebuild the economy,” he said in a statement. He was Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition won power in the general elections in May 2018.
“It will take at least 18 months just to complete the vaccination program, and more than two years for the economy to fully recover. People want stability and restart our ailing economic sectors. To achieve this, we must work together, not one against others “.
With his resignation, the PKR has lost a third deputy in just three weeks, raising questions about what had been happening behind the scenes.
Two other PKR MPs, Mr. Larry Sng and Mr. Steven Choong, withdrew from the party late last month, promising instead to support Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
PKR, then led by Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, won 48 parliamentary seats in the last general election of 2018, but following recent defections, it now has 35 seats.
The party is now led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The presidential council of the opposition PH coalition, of which PKR is a component party, had earlier this month accused the PN of using enforcement agencies to pressure opposition lawmakers to defect, before the resumption of the Parliament.
Under the state of emergency declared on January 12, and which is expected to last until August 1, or earlier if the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled, parliamentary sessions have been suspended.
“Any abuse of institutions or agencies with the intent to harass, oppress or intimidate political enemies is not acceptable. We believe this has been done to many, including Lim Guan Eng and his wife, Larry Sng, Steven Choong, and now indirectly to Xavier Jayakumar. “, the PH council said in a statement.
Apart from PKR, the other two members of PH are the Democratic Action Party, which is led by Mr. Lim, and Parti Amanah Negara.
Last month, Perak PKR Vice President MA Tinagaran, whom Xavier described as “a close family friend”, was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on corruption charges.
“In a recent media report, my name was implicated and it has brought prejudice against me as an elected representative,” Xavier said in a statement at the time.
“Following the advice of my family and friends, I am here to clear my name with the authorities. Leaders linked to corruption must be responsible for preserving the integrity of our institution and we are responsible for showing good governance.”
“MA Tinagaran is not a helper of mine as falsely reported, but a close friend of the family,” he said.
PKR Secretary General Saifuddin Nasution said in a statement on Saturday: “Apparently, Dr. Xavier was later contacted by a high-ranking minister (Perikatan Nasional) who told (him) that he needed to support Perikatan. or face serious repercussions. “
It added that Mr. Xavier had informed the PKR leadership that MACC had made him a “target” of the investigations and had arrested his political secretary, personal assistant and other acquaintances.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin alleged that these were part of the government’s efforts to gain the support of opposition MPs through the use of the police, the Treasury Department and the MACC.
On March 7, the MACC “vehemently” denied having been used as a political weapon, saying it is an independent agency.
“Such accusations were baseless and irresponsible, and could tarnish our reputation,” MACC said in a statement, in response to allegations made by the PH presidential council on March 5 that the PN administration is misusing government agencies to pressure opposition MPs to shore up the PN Government.
Meanwhile, the defections of the three PKR legislators could have restored the majority of the PN government.
PN became a minority government on January 12 after two Umno MPs withdrew their support, leaving it with just 109 seats in the 222-seat parliament. Currently, two of the 222 seats are vacant.
The incorporation of Xavier, Sng and Choong would return the slim majority of PN to 112 deputies, if nothing else changes.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali tweeted on Saturday, shortly after Xavier’s defection announcement: “1 + 1 + 1 + …… and so on. Alhamdulillah (Praise God). Keep the calm”.
Mr. Azmin is from Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, vice president of Bersatu, said he expects to see more defections.
“There are some more who want to join us, especially from the opposition parties. They will unite closer to the general elections,” he told reporters in Perak, as quoted by The Star newspaper.
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