Testing the Waters

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The government of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces instability after a parliamentary speaker ruled this week that six opposition lawmakers can retain their seats, a ruling that critics say contradicts the constitution’s “anti-party hopping law” (APHL), the South China Morning Post reported.

On Tuesday, Speaker Johari Abdul told the opposition party Bersatu that its former legislators can keep their seats. The lawmakers were sacked from Bersatu earlier this year for declaring their support for the prime minister in exchange for financial gains for their constituencies.

But Bersatu criticized the decision and said it would challenge the ruling, calling it a betrayal of constitutional amendments meant to prevent party switching.

Parliament passed the AHPL in 2022 to stop lawmakers from changing parties mid-term and prevent political instability after similar defections toppled the administration of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2020.

Under the constitutional amendment, legislators who leave their party must vacate their seats unless they are expelled or the party dissolves. The six Bersatu lawmakers were deemed to have left the party after failing to retract their support for Anwar, following changes to Bersatu’s rules in April, the Straits Times explained.

But Johari’s ruling could now test the AHPL, with some legal scholars warning that this could create legal loopholes and diminish public confidence in the government. Political analyst Oh Ei Sun told the South China Morning Post that the anti-party hopping provisions offer the speaker broad discretion, potentially leading to partisan decisions that favor the government by protecting defectors – while penalizing government lawmakers who switch sides.

Even so, Anwar defended the decision, maintaining that the speaker acted lawfully and blamed the opposition for rejecting mandatory seat vacancies for expelled lawmakers during previous negotiations.

Anwar, who leads a fragile coalition, will present the 2025 budget in October. Despite holding a parliamentary supermajority, any vote against his budget that surpasses the opposition’s numbers in the legislature could be perceived as a challenge to his leadership.