Speaking to FMT after its Meru assemblyman Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar left the party to join PKR, Khalid described the move as a form of party hopping which Amanah did not encourage.

“We cannot prevent anyone from leaving, but as an assemblyman, he should consider that he was entrusted by the party to further our cause and message.

“This of course proves that we made a mistake in choosing him as our representative,” he said, adding that they will be more careful in selecting candidates in the future.

Despite being let down, Khalid, who is Shah Alam MP, wished Fakhrulrazi luck in his future.

In the last general election, Fakhrulrazi won the Meru seat in a five-cornered fight against candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS, PSM and an independent candidate.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu had in July described party-hopping as “disgusting” and called for a law to curb the practice.

PKR has filed civil suits against some of its elected representatives who had switched parties which led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government at the federal level and four state governments earlier this year.

FMT has reached out to PKR leaders for comment.