PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has criticised Muhyiddin Yassin for claiming that the unity government will amend the Federal Constitution to increase the number of parliamentary seats from 222 to 300 if it wins the Pulai by-election on Sept 9.
At a Perikatan Nasional ceramah in Kempas, Johor, last night, party chairman Muhyiddin said the unity government will secure a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat if Pakatan Harapan’s Suhaizan Kaiat wins the Pulai parliamentary seat, giving PH-BN the number of MPs it needs to amend the constitution.
In a Harian Metro report, Lim said only the Election Commission can redraw electoral boundaries, adding that the matter has never been discussed among government MPs.
“As a former prime minister, he (Muhyiddin) should be aware that the EC determines this (redrawing electoral boundaries).
“Sometimes, I doubt whether he is qualified to be a prime minister because he doesn’t understand basic matters in the Federal Constitution.
“It’s no wonder that his administration was labelled ‘kerajaan gagal’ (failed government),” he said.
Lim was speaking at the launch of service centres for the Kampar parliamentary constituency and Keranji state constituency in Kampar.
DAP’s Chong Zhemin and Koo Haai Yen are the Kampar MP and Keranji assemblyman, respectively.
Lim also denied Bersatu deputy president Radzi Jidin’s claim that DAP acts as a “big brother” in the unity government by disregarding suggestions by its coalition partners.
Pointing out that DAP only has four ministers in the unity government, he questioned how the party could be labelled a “big brother”.
“Where is the logic in that? Maybe he (Radzi) doesn’t understand mathematics. We don’t even have the prime minister or deputy prime minister’s post.
“They (PN) are good at slandering others. I hope the public can see that in their pursuit for victory and power, they will do anything, including raising baseless allegations,” he said.
Separately, communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil described Muhyiddin’s allegation that the PH-BN government will amend the Federal Constitution to increase the number of parliamentary seats from 222 to 300 if it wins the Pulai by-election as baseless.
He said this was the first time he had heard of the matter.
“I’m not sure where he got the information from. I’m not aware of this matter despite being one of the Cabinet members,” New Straits Times quoted Fahmi as saying.
“For me, it is just wishful thinking from his side.”
He told Muhyiddin to raise the issue at the upcoming Dewan Rakyat meeting, where he can ask Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim himself.
“He will get a clear and exact answer from the prime minister,” he said.
“I would like to remind him, do not skip the Parliament meeting, and please ask questions during PMQT (Prime Minister’s Question Time).” - FMT
