KUALA LUMPUR: The government will handle disagreements among members of parliament (MP) over the amendments to citizenship law through an internal mechanism, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin said an engagement session would be held with both government and opposition MPs on their feedback towards the amendment. This comes after a statement was made by government backbencher, Howard Lee (PH-Ipoh Timor) who had cautioned that some MPs were not satisfied with the proposed amendments, which could lead to some of them opting to vote in contrary to their party's stance.
"We will manage it through internal mechanisms and as I mentioned (previously), there will be engagement sessions with all MPs not only from the government bloc but also the opposition. "A schedule has also been fixed, where we will conduct discussions and seek feedback (from the MPs) as we want the best outcomes over the proposal," he said during a press conference in Parliament, today.
Saifuddin said this when asked to comment on the statement made by Lee on Nov 4, which hinted that some of the government MPs might compell to defy the party to uphold their principles as a clear message that they were not satisfied with the proposed amendments. Lee, however, did not specify whether the statement was referring to the proposed amendment to citizenship law, as widely reported by the media.
"Reading just the room consisting of just our own guys, sent clear signals that the proposed amendments if hit the floor without decoupling; there will be some who are compelled to break whip in order not to break conscience," said Lee.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Nov 5 reportedly said the government will provide further explanation on the proposed constitutional amendments aimed at resolving the citizenship issues and to avoid pushback, including from the government MPs.
Anwar said there was also a limit to what the government could do, adding that the amendment has been presented to the Conference of Rulers.