PKR’S Chong Fat Full has quit his party to become a Perikatan Nasional (PN)-friendly independent, immediately giving the newly minted state government a simple majority in the legislative assembly.
Before Chong’s decision to quit PKR, both Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PN’s support were tied at 28 assemblymen each in the 56-seat assembly.
Chong, who is Pemanis assemblyman, announced his decision at a press conference with Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad today.
“I hereby declare that I have quit PKR to be an independent assemblyman and support the new coalition under Datuk Hasni.
“I am a professional and will continue to be a professional. In today’s unstable political climate, it is not easy to make this decision, especially since I have been a part of PKR for a long time,” said Chong.
“I have consulted my supporters, voters, family and friends, and after thinking it through, I made a decision this morning.
“Our MB’s team has been very patient with me, because they know it is hard for me as a PKR member to make this decision,” Chong said during the press conference, which was live-streamed on Facebook.
He said he had not been given incentives to switch sides.
Hasni thanked Chong for his decision and said it was not an easy decision to make.
It is highly expected that Chong will also be offered a Johor exco position in the proposed 10-member line-up as he is the only ethnic Chinese elected representative who supports the new coalition.
Last Thursday night, Chong, who was said to have been aligned with Azmin Ali, was seen to have been in support of the PH coalition as its latest addition. Prior to that, he was reported to have supported the new coalition.
When asked if he was under pressure to show his support for the new Gabungan Baharu coalition, Chong insisted that his decision was made for the well-being of the people of Johor.
“I did not accept any offers or posts.
“I entered politics because I wanted a platform to serve the people. If I were a dentist, I would only serve 20,000 people. But as an elected representative I can serve more people,” said Chong, who has been a dentist for the past 30 years.
On any pending penalties he may face in light of his exit from PKR, Chong expressed his uncertainty.
He was unsure if there will be payments made to PKR based on the agreement between all of the party’s assemblymen and MPs when they were selected as candidates under PH in the 14th general election (GE14) back in 2018.
Yesterday, it was reported that Melaka’s Rembia assemblyman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis must settle a payment of RM10 million for going against the agreement of standing as a PKR candidate in the last general election.
However, Muhammad Jailani said the matter of him having to settle the payment did not arise as he had not left the party as claimed.
The PH state government fell last week after Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar decided that it no longer commanded majority support in the state assembly.
The sultan made the decision after interviewing the state’s 56 assemblymen on February 26.