KUALA LUMPUR: Former Health Minister and Keluar Sekejap host Khairy Jamaluddin said that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia's (Bersatu) rejection towards an anti-hopping clause when the law was drafted had backfired.
This was following the party's four members of parliament who had pledged support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Madani government.
"The draft in the anti-hopping bill presented to the then Law Minister Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuaku Jaafar had contained a provision to declare a seat vacant if an MP had gone against the party stance or failed to comply with the party whip in Parliament.
"Bersatu was against the clause and was subsequently removed from the bill when it was tabled in Dewan Rakyat.
"Ironically, those who had opposed the original draft are now the victims," he said.
Khairy added that Wan Junaidi had such foresight by adding the clause in the bill draft.
"But now, the loophole has been left open that Perikatan Nasional can do nothing about.
"These MPs have become `zombie MPs' where Bersatu can't sack them, and they can't go to the unity government."
Meanwhile, former Umno information chief and Keluar Sekejap's co-host Shahril Hamdan said this loophole could also happen to the unity government, albeit not likely.
"Maybe it could also happen where those supporting Anwar could one day change their support by exploiting the same loophole. However, it is very unlikely," he said.
Yesterday, four MPs from the opposition bloc expressed support for Anwar and requested a seating change in the Dewan Rakyat.
These MPs were Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (PN-Labuan), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (PN-Gua Musang) dan Zahari Kechik (PN-Jeli).