PH does not uphold spirit of MoU between govt and opposition - Annuar

KUALA LUMPUR - Pakatan Harapan (PH) does not uphold the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government and the opposition when they requested for block voting for the motion to extend enforcement of Subsection 4 (5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the spirit and purpose of the MoU were clearly aimed to stabilise and harmonise administration, as well as supporting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in managing the country's recovery.

"It is also to reduce politicking and we focus on the people’s interests," he said in a post on Facebook today.

As one of the eight members of the MoU Consultative Committee, Annuar also sought clarification from DAP secretary-general and Seremban Member of Parliament Anthony Loke Siew Fook on the sudden action by PH.

"Why is PH so determined to defeat the government's vote to an extent of rejecting the votes of four Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who are already in the hall while the voting was still going on?" he said.

Annuar, who is also the Ketereh Member of Parliament, said PH should ask to negotiate the matter if it did not agree with the motion to continue with the powers to detain suspects for up to 28 days without trail under the law.

He said PH should take responsibility if the MoU is revoked.

"As I have emphasised, BN is not afraid to face PH in GE15 (15th General Election). The recent Umno General Assembly has already made a resolution related to GE15 and we, as loyal party members, fully support the resolution,” he said.

The motion to extend the enforcement of Subsection 4 (5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 for another five years, was not approved by the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The motion, tabled by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin was not was not passed in a bloc vote which saw 84 Members of Parliament (MPs) agreeing and 86 disagreeing.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun when announcing the vote outcome, said that a total of 50 MPs were not present. - BERNAMA