Malaysia’s opposition lost its third lawmaker in two weeks yesterday when a member of parliament (MP) quit in protest over whether Christians can use the word “Allah” for God, saying the opposition had insulted Islam by allowing the move.
The defection of Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Peoples Justice Party leaves the opposition with 79 seats in the 222-seat parliament that has six independents and 137 MPs from the governing coalition.
Malaysia saw a spate of attacks on churches after a court ruling last year that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word “Allah” in its Malay-language editions to describe the Christian God.
“The insulting of the institution of Islam ... including the endorsement of the use of the word Allah [by non-Muslims] made me reach a point where I could no longer compromise and keep quiet,” Mohsin told a news conference after he said he would become an independent MP.
The government has appealed the court ruling.
The defections bolster the government at a time when opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is on trial again on sodomy charges and raise doubts over his leadership in holding the three-party opposition alliance together.
“This was a legacy issue from the election in 2008 as basically anyone was allowed to be a candidate. I would expect more turbulence and defections from his party,” said James Chin, political science professor at Monash University in Kuala Lumpur.
Despite this, Chin does not expect the government to regain its two-thirds majority.
The Barisan Nasional’s (BN) dominance through 52 years in power was dented by historic losses in 2008 polls, when it lost control in five states and its once iron-clad, two-thirds control of parliament.
The Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance says the exodus, which has included many more lower-ranking members, is a necessary “cleansing” after the polls which saw some untested candidates sweep to surprise victories.
“Before the 2008 general elections, Keadilan faced difficulties in finding candidates and we took whoever we could get, with the consequence that some of them were not up to the mark,” party vice president Sivarasa Rasiah said.
“It’s better they leave now rather than weaken us later at a more critical time near or at the next general election,” he said.
Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was sacked and convicted on separate sodomy and corruption charges, emerged from prison in 2004 to forge an alliance between Keadilan, the Islamic party PAS and the Democratic Action Party.
After stunning success in the 2008 polls, which also netted control of five states, Anwar plotted to seize power by securing mass defections from the BN government.
It was the BN, however, that ended up drawing defectors, wresting control of northern Perak state when three state assemblymen jumped ship early last year.
Last month, an opposition lawmaker in the national parliament left the party, followed on Sunday by former Penang state deputy chief minister and senior Keadilan member Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin.
Another Penang lawmaker, Tan Tee Beng, announced his departure on Monday and declared himself an independent.
If Pakatan Rakyat loses its one-third hold on parliament, it would have “a huge impact” because the government would once again be able to amend the Constitution and change election rules to boost its own position, he said.
Political analyst Shahruddin Badarudin said the defectors were often disgruntled “because they are not getting any benefits, contracts or payoffs from the opposition state governments, who want to be transparent and clean.”
“The opposition is already aware of which other lawmakers are expected to defect,” he said. “The issue is now how to get them out and consolidate the party so that a situation that can be managed does not get out of hand.”
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