A lawmaker quit opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's Peoples Justice Party (PKR) on Wednesday, March 3, in protest over whether Christians can use the word "Allah" for God, leaving the opposition with 79 seats in the 222-seat federal parliament.
"I am deeply concerned with the political struggles and activities of PKR," MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri told a news conference reading from a written statement.
He accused PKR, often known simply as Keadilan, of compromising on certain matters to achieve a certain objective and seeking support from other countries to attack the sovereignty of Malaysia.
"The insulting of the institution of Islam…including the endorsement of the use of the word Allah (by non-Muslims) made me reach a point where I could no longer compromise and keep quiet," asserted MP Mohsin.
Multiethnic Malaysia has been divided over allowing Christians to use the word Allah to refer to God.
The country's High Court had overturned a government ban on the use of the word in Christian publications.
Mohsin believes that by supporting the decision the opposition had insulted Islam, the religion of the majority in the country.
"I cannot remain tolerant and stay silent ... in the name of Allah, I hereby declare my decision to step down [from the party."
Blow
This is the third defection from Anwar's PKR in just two weeks, leaving the opposition with 79 seats in the 222-seat federal parliament.
Some analysts predict other defections are on their way.
"The opposition is already aware of which other lawmakers are expected to defect," political analyst Shahruddin Badarudin told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and convicted on separate sodomy and corruption charges, emerged from prison in 2004 to forge an alliance between Keadilan, the Islamic party PAS and the Democratic Action Party.
The alliance made major gains in the 2008 polls, winning control over five of the country's 13 states.
Anwar wanted to seize power by securing mass defections from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).
But it was the BN that ended up drawing defectors, wresting control of the northern Perak state when three state assemblymen jumped ship in early 2009.
Some analysts say the defections could help the government regain its legislative majority.
The BN only needs 11 more seats to reclaim its two-thirds majority in the parliament.
Mohammad Agus Yusoff from National University of Malaysia believes that if the opposition loses its one-third hold on parliament, the government would once again be able to amend the constitution and change election rules to boost its own position.
But the opposition alliance tried to play down the importance of the defections.
"Before the 2008 general elections, Keadilan faced difficulties in finding candidates and we took whoever we could get, with the consequence that some of them were not up to the mark," Party Vice-President Sivarasa Rasiah told AFP.
"It's better they leave now rather than weaken us later at a more critical time near or at the next general election."
The defections are happening against the backdrop of Anwar's trial on new sodomy charges that could see him jailed for up to 20 years.
"I am deeply concerned with the political struggles and activities of PKR," MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri told a news conference reading from a written statement.
He accused PKR, often known simply as Keadilan, of compromising on certain matters to achieve a certain objective and seeking support from other countries to attack the sovereignty of Malaysia.
"The insulting of the institution of Islam…including the endorsement of the use of the word Allah (by non-Muslims) made me reach a point where I could no longer compromise and keep quiet," asserted MP Mohsin.
Multiethnic Malaysia has been divided over allowing Christians to use the word Allah to refer to God.
The country's High Court had overturned a government ban on the use of the word in Christian publications.
Mohsin believes that by supporting the decision the opposition had insulted Islam, the religion of the majority in the country.
"I cannot remain tolerant and stay silent ... in the name of Allah, I hereby declare my decision to step down [from the party."
Blow
This is the third defection from Anwar's PKR in just two weeks, leaving the opposition with 79 seats in the 222-seat federal parliament.
Some analysts predict other defections are on their way.
"The opposition is already aware of which other lawmakers are expected to defect," political analyst Shahruddin Badarudin told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and convicted on separate sodomy and corruption charges, emerged from prison in 2004 to forge an alliance between Keadilan, the Islamic party PAS and the Democratic Action Party.
The alliance made major gains in the 2008 polls, winning control over five of the country's 13 states.
Anwar wanted to seize power by securing mass defections from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).
But it was the BN that ended up drawing defectors, wresting control of the northern Perak state when three state assemblymen jumped ship in early 2009.
Some analysts say the defections could help the government regain its legislative majority.
The BN only needs 11 more seats to reclaim its two-thirds majority in the parliament.
Mohammad Agus Yusoff from National University of Malaysia believes that if the opposition loses its one-third hold on parliament, the government would once again be able to amend the constitution and change election rules to boost its own position.
But the opposition alliance tried to play down the importance of the defections.
"Before the 2008 general elections, Keadilan faced difficulties in finding candidates and we took whoever we could get, with the consequence that some of them were not up to the mark," Party Vice-President Sivarasa Rasiah told AFP.
"It's better they leave now rather than weaken us later at a more critical time near or at the next general election."
The defections are happening against the backdrop of Anwar's trial on new sodomy charges that could see him jailed for up to 20 years.
