KUALA LUMPUR: Labelling the change of government by withdrawal of support as treason poses a threat to democracy and paves the way towards dictatorship, claims a Bersatu leader.
Bersatu legal and constitution bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latiff said changing government by withdrawal of support is 'democracy in action' and permitted by Article 43 of the Federal Constitution.
She claimed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself as the previous opposition leader had made various attempts at toppling the government.
This is in response to the statement yesterday by J-Kom deputy director (community communications) Datuk Ismail Yusop who said the opposition was in Dubai allegedly to identify members of parliament (MPs) who might switch support to the opposition through inducements, solely to establish a 'tebuk atap (backdoor)' government.
"For the government's propaganda unit (J-KOM) to threaten the opposition with treason over this is the road to dictatorship, and indicates the extent to which Anwar and Pakatan Harapan have turned their backs on democracy," she said in a statement.
She claimed that it is also ironic that that for the past few months, the Anwar administration had been enticing opposition MPs to jump ship and have persuaded a few MPs from Perikatan Nasional to shift their allegiance.
"How is it that if and when there are MPs from his corner who have lost faith in his administration and leadership, and are looking for other better alternatives, they are dubbed as betrayers and much worse, treasonous? This is sheer shamelessness and hypocrisy.
"For Ismail to send warnings and threats in the media to MPs on which person they will support as Prime Minister in the Dewan Rakyat is itself a threat to parliamentary democracy. It also raises a big red flag and seems to indicate that Anwar is prepared to instruct the Home Ministry, the Inspector-General of police and (other) national security authorities to crackdown on opposition leaders," she said.
She said the "unbecoming rant" from J-Kom is therefore ill-informed, ignorant and intended to paint a distasteful picture of the opposition to the public at large.