As we have seen, members do switch political parties when they feel that their values are no longer welcome in the party they ran in.
– Paul Martin, ex-Canadian PM
The key question to ask is: Were the four Sabah MPs from Bersatu ignorant of the anti-hopping law which came into force on Oct 5 when they decided to resign from the party?
I don’t think so. They also voted for the passage of the Anti-Hopping Bill a few months ago and they should know every detail of it. No excuse for being ignorant.
Why then did they choose to take the risk of breaching the anti-hopping law and having their seats declared vacant and forcing by-elections in the process?
Considering that one of them is a minister and another a deputy minister in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s new cabinet, perhaps there is too much to lose. Was the sacrifice necessary?
There are valid questions for the four MPs which they should have ready answers for, firstly their electorate in particular and the people of Sabah in general.
Could they have stayed where they are in Bersatu and not run foul of the anti-hopping law? Many felt they should.
There was no urgency to follow Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the Bersatu group to leave the party at this point even if it was agreed that their membership in Bersatu was no longer tenable.
In politics, there is always a way out. Why, it’s not uncommon for recalcitrant party members to be sacked; so the four MPs could have gone down that route and escape breaching the anti-hopping law. The law is clear – MPs who are sacked from their party are exempted.
I am puzzled why they did not think of the consequences of their action. Or were they just over-confident with their argument that they contested under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition ticket in GE15 and not under the Bersatu ticket will win the day for them?
I have to agree with former Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when he said that the four MPs who left Bersatu have no choice but to vacate their seats once their exit from the party was formalised.
This was his first statement on the issue, made the following day after the purported collapse of Sabah Bersatu.
Wan Junaidi, who was the minister that oversaw the passage of the anti-hopping law earlier this year, said the quartet’s continued allegiance to GRS did not matter.
The four had won their seats under a GRS ticket, which in turn is a formally registered political party that served as a coalition platform for Sabah Bersatu and four Sabah-based parties.
For Wan Junaidi, the law placed importance on the party and not coalition membership.
However, on Dec 12, Wan Junaidi made an about-turn on the matter, stating in a joint statement with constitutional lawyer Tengku Fuad Ahmad that he agreed that the four MPs could keep their seats.
He said he had been informed that the four had resigned from Bersatu in early October before contesting the general election on a GRS ticket.
Sabah Bersatu virtually collapsed on Dec 10 after Hajiji announced that its members had quit, with a plan to form another party.
They include the four parliamentarians and 15 state assemblypersons.
In an immediate face-saving reaction, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Sabah Bersatu continues to exist and function despite its former chairperson Hajiji Noor and his followers having announced quitting the party.
Muhyiddin, who is the Perikatan Nasional chairperson, expressed his disappointment with the former state leadership which failed to show loyalty to the party.
He also announced the appointment of Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee as the new Sabah Bersatu chairman.
Late on Monday, Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, one of the controversial four, clarified that he is a direct member of GRS and had signed up for membership before nomination for the general election last month. He said that his membership of GRS was in accordance with the coalition’s constitution.
Armizan, who is the newly appointed Minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs, said he had not announced his intention to leave Bersatu, nor had he ever submitted a resignation letter.
GRS, a coalition of several parties, was formally registered as a political party in March with membership comprising political parties as well as individuals.
Armizan did not say whether three other MPs had also become GRS members before the election. The other three MPs are Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), who is also tourism, arts and culture deputy minister; Sipitang MP Matbali Musah and Ranau MP Jonathan Yasin.
Until the matter is resolved, the four MPs are now stuck in a limbo. It will not be a surprise if Bersatu pursues the matter up to the highest level as the four seats are “legally and rightfully” theirs; that is if they were Bersatu members when they contested GE15.
This episode is an unfortunate and rocky start for the Sabah representatives in the new unity government. It does reflect unfavourably on their political acumen and judgement, to say the least.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
