Ramasamy said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government ought to know better, given their reformist background.

“Isn’t (there) some other noble ways to strengthen the government already strained by a weak economy, the plummeting of the ringgit against the US currency, food shortage and others?” he said in a statement today.

“A government that doesn’t address the domestic concerns of the rakyat with or without a majority support is a shaky government politically.”

In recent weeks, four Bersatu MPs have declared their support for the ruling government in a bid to secure allocations for their constituencies.

The four are Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli).

Iskandar Dzulkarnain and Suhaili have since been suspended for four and six years, respectively, after Bersatu’s disciplinary board ruled that they had breached the party constitution.

Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reportedly said more opposition MPs were expected to declare their support for Anwar.

Ramasamy said the government has a moral obligation to reject potential future “defections”.

Accepting the support of the Perikatan Nasional MPs does not augur well for the longevity of the Madani government, he said, adding that the move “has already tarnished the government’s image”.

He also said it “undermines the anti-hopping law” and has cast doubts over Anwar’s leadership and his reform agenda.

The anti-hopping law is only triggered when an MP quits their party to join another.

“Perhaps such an episode has finally nailed the coffin of the reform agenda of the Madani government of Anwar,” he said.