KUANTAN: Perikatan Nasional (PN) elected representatives in Pahang have expressed their readiness to hold discussions with the state government on the anti-party hopping bill before it is tabled at the next state assembly sitting scheduled for May.
State Assembly opposition leader, Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said negotiations between the Menteri Besar and the opposition are necessary to allow the opposition to study the bill.
"I guarantee that any bill that brings benefits to political stability, the welfare of the people, and the development of the state will receive full support.
"I suggest that a briefing and discussion session be held with the opposition before the anti-party hopping bill is tabled in the next state assembly session," he said in a statement today.
On March 27, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government was still undecided on the matter, but was willing to hold talks with the opposition before making any decision.
"If we table it, then we have to obtain at least two-thirds support. The (state) government today has not secured two-thirds.
"If they (the opposition) agree, we will table the motion.... we will discuss," he replied when asked about the anti-party hopping bill.
Meanwhile, Tuan Ibrahim, who is the Cheka assemblyman, claimed that Wan Rosdy may have expressed his concerns about the opposition's support on the issue because he had been unfair to them.
"He might be worried as the state government will not obtain a two-thirds majority without the support of the opposition.
"The (state) government has not been channeling allocations to the opposition representatives who were elected by the people, and this is something that should not happen.
"The move to block opposition elected representatives (using) public facilities and meeting with state government officials are among some of the issues which are unfair to the opposition.
"We urge the government to respect the people's decision and treat all elected representatives fairly," he said.
Pahang is among the states that has yet to implement the anti-party hopping law for assemblymen since it came into force at the Federal level on Oct 5, 2022.
In the 15th general election last year, Barisan Nasional (BN) obtained 17 seats while Pakatan Harapan (PH) won eight with six from DAP.
Perikatan Nasional, meanwhile, obtained 17 seats, leaving BN and PH to form a unity Pahang government. There are 42 seats in Pahang state assembly.