Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in. They are going to ask what did you do about it, when you knew the glaciers were melting.
– Martin Sheen, American actor
Last Thursday (May 26), Ampang MP Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin announced she was leaving Bersatu and crossing over to Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM). She remains as Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister for now as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has said he will only decide on her fate after his return from his Japan working trip.
Though it’s still early to say if Zuraida’s move would prompt other members of parliament — especially those from the opposition camp — to abandon their parties, before a proposed law to ban party-hopping by MPs is tabled in Parliament in July, the signs may already be there.
Some have been tacitly encouraged to leave their parties under which they were elected and cross over to the ruling coalition.
Looks like the race to beat the anti-hopping law has already begun. Expect more self-centred representatives to leave their parties.
Zuraida aside, I think there are no fewer than 10 eligible kataks (political frogs) who might not think twice about betraying their parties that have placed so much hope in them, giving these politicians the platform to get elected. We don’t have to identify these political frogs; you will know who these potential party-hoppers are soon. Come the next parliamentary sitting, their identities will be known.
Several leaders, including Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, have called for the speedy tabling and passing of the anti-party hopping Bill to ensure the credibility of the government is not eroded.
Said Wan Junaidi: “If you ask me, I would prefer to have the law implemented first (before the 15th general election) so that what happened in 2018 would not happen again this year or in 2023. If we have GE before the law is in place, there is a risk of (politicians) hopping left and right.”
The minister had said on several occasions this year that the Bill would be tabled during the current parliamentary session, and on February 24 even announced his confidence that it would be passed based on stakeholder engagement sessions.
But the problem lies with Putrajaya leaders who say they want “more time” to go through the Bill. I have a hunch that the Bill will only be passed after most of the spineless frogs have crossed over. Don’t blame me for harbouring this thought!
In fact, most, if not all Sarawak elected representatives, are genuine in their call for the anti-hopping before the next general election.
Party-hopping politicians are not only a nuisance to their parties but also the bane of Malaysia’s political stability. They have caused political and economic instability, and affected the well-being of the very people who placed their hopes in them. But these politicians return the people’s favour by ‘metamorphosising’ into amphibians!
I have only one punishment for them; throw these political crumbs into a political abyss, never to see them emerge again.
Young voters may not fully understand the chaos that these kataks have left in their wake. Party-hoppers are not a new breed in this country. Their actions have led to the fall of governments in Terengganu in 1962, Sarawak (1966), Kelantan (1977), and Putrajaya (2020).
The term kataks or frogs which refers to elected representatives who abandon their parties, first emerged after several assemblymen from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) defected to Barisan Nasional (BN) during the 1994 Sabah state election, leading to the collapse of the Sabah government.
Now, what is an anti-hopping law? It’s a law to stop MPs or assemblymen elected under the ticket of a political party from crossing over to another political party. These representatives usually abandon their parties for personal gain and at the expense of the voters, many of whom vote along party lines.
Until now, party-hopping has not been outlawed because the Federal Court declared in 1992 that doing so would infringe upon one’s freedom of association.
For such a law to take effect, Parliament must approve a constitutional amendment to bypass the 1992 court ruling.
An anti-hopping law would go a long way in restoring public confidence in the electoral system and give voters a reason to come out and vote in GE15.
There are more than 50 nations that protect political parties with anti-defection provisions in their national constitutions.
They are India, Singapore, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Bulgaria, Ghana, Guyana, Hungary, Lesotho, Mexico, Namibia, Romania, Samoa, Senegal, Suriname, Ukraine, Armenia, Bangladesh, Fiji, Gabon, Kenya, Macedonia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Israel, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Pakistan, Thailand and Zimbabwe.
For example, Article 46 of the Singapore Constitution states that the seat of an MP becomes vacant if he ceases to be a member of, or is expelled or resigns from, the political party for
which he stood in the election.
Article 59 of the Constitution of Belize requires a member of the House of Representatives to his seat in the House if, having been a candidate of a political party and elected to the House of
Representatives as a candidate of that political party, he resigns from that political party
or crosses the floor.
As for Namibia, Article 48 of its Constitution forces elected representatives to step down if the political party which nominated them to sit in the National Assembly informs the
Speaker that such members are no longer members of such political party.
Let’s pray our Parliament passes the anti-hopping law this July.
