PETALING JAYA: Former ministers Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad have announced their resignation from PKR to take over Parti Bersama Malaysia, while also vacating their parliamentary seats.
Both leaders confirmed they would formally notify Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul of their resignations as MPs for Pandan and Setiawangsa.
“I will write officially to the Speaker to inform him of my decision to resign as MP and to vacate the Pandan parliamentary seat,” Rafizi said when announcing their new political direction yesterday.
Also present at the event were PKR MPs Wong Chen (Subang), Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (Balik Pulau), Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju) and Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya).
According to Rafizi, their move to Bersama will only become official tomorrow, when both leaders formally submit their resignation letters to PKR secretary-general Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh, severing their long-standing ties with the party.
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi insisted their decision could not be considered political “party-hopping” as they were willingly surrendering the mandates they won under PKR and Pakatan Harapan before joining another party.
The clarification comes amid concerns over the Anti-Hopping Law, with both leaders saying the carefully arranged timeline was designed to respect voters and avoid legal or financial penalties.
Rafizi claimed that PKR’s financial bond only applies to MPs who leave the party while retaining their seats.
“By returning the mandate to the people first, we are no longer bound by that constraint when we resign from PKR on Tuesday,” he said.
Rafizi added that he would contest the Pandan seat under a Bersama ticket in the next general election, while Nik Nazmi confirmed he would seek re-election in Setiawangsa.
Rafizi also stressed that Bersama would not enter into any political coalition ahead of the election, saying the party intended to remain independent in deciding where to field candidates.
Meanwhile, Fuziah said the memberships of Rafizi and Nik Nazmi were automatically terminated under PKR’s constitution following their public announcement to resign from the party and vacate their seats.
She said in a statement that the declaration was also in line with Article 49A(1)(a)(ii) of the Federal Constitution, which states that a Dewan Rakyat seat must be vacated if an elected representative ceases to be a member of the political party under which he or she was elected.
Fuziah said PKR would refer the matter to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to determine the status of the two MPs in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
She also said the party would review the status of other PKR members who attended the event where the announcement was made.
