UMNO, the party that can't seem to do well in elections lately scores its first "victory" in a long while.
No wonder politics has such a dirty name. The overwrought drama taking place in Perak boasts everything people find distasteful in politics.
Alleged buying over of elected officials. Outright lies told with straight faces. People suddenly disappearing before reappearing to make incoherent press statements. Backroom manoeuvrings, party hopping and re-hopping a few days later.
From The MalaysiaInsider
A new low in Malaysian politics
FEB 5 — So, the party that can't seem to do well in elections lately scores its first "victory" in a long while.
No wonder politics has such a dirty name. The overwrought drama taking place in Perak boasts everything people find distasteful in politics.
Alleged buying over of elected officials. Outright lies told with straight faces. People suddenly disappearing before reappearing to make incoherent press statements. Backroom manoeuvrings, party hopping and, in a feat that surely deserves to be recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records, re-hopping a few days later.
If March 8 is considered a big leap forward for Malaysian democracy, then yesterday's events signal a new low. The only consolation to be hoped for is the end of the political careers of the four Perak assemblypersons involved.
Of course, the orchestrated fall of a state government has been done before. As many would no doubt bring up, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself is known to have orchestrated a similar coup in Sabah in 1994.
And no doubt, many would bring up the PKR leader's Sept 16 attempt, which would have been a far larger operation, involving more than 30 MPs crossing over to form a new federal government.
Which naturally begs the question, if one side can do it, why can't the other? All's fair in love, war and politics, and if our laws and constitution allow for these political moves, then Malaysians shouldn't be outraged, right?
But let's not be fooled by false equivalencies, which I certainly expect BN leaders and the mainstream media to propagate.
Consider what has just happened:
A reasonably popular menteri besar and state government are being replaced not because of any failure on their part nor because of the people's wishes, but rather, to benefit politicians from a party that is evidently unpopular. Not one person so far has even bothered to convince the public that Datuk Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin's administration was in any way unfit to govern nor was Datuk Ngeh Hoo Kam accused of sodomy. In other words, there's little pretence that this wasn't a power grab for the sake of power alone.
Two of the crossover assemblypersons are facing corruption charges. Surely this is a huge red flag. If the two walk, deservedly or otherwise, it would be more than enough proof for the public that their exoneration was part of the deal. And if they are found guilty, then what does that say about BN's standards when it is willing to tolerate corruption just to gain power?
An inclusive state government that is conscious of Perak's diversity and also appointed the state's first Indian speaker and first female deputy speaker will have to give way to one that will be overwhelmingly Malay and male. This does not necessarily prevent them from serving all Perak folk, but is surely a step backwards.
Should a new state government be formed by BN, it will also not enjoy a significant majority over the opposition. So all this jumping around doesn't change the precarious balance of Perak politics, nor does it prevent a reversal of fortune several months down the line. Which could mean more tiresome drama.
At a time of great uncertainty, particularly in the economy, the last thing the people of Perak needed was political games to distract from getting the job done. And that was exactly what they got.
Until we change the laws, party hopping remains a legal move, albeit one considered by many as unethical. Regardless of your opinion on Pakatan Rakyat's attempt to secure the federal government via crossovers, it's important to look at the overall picture when comparing it with the Perak coup. We cannot be misled to thinking that they are equal, only that Datuk Seri Najib Razak succeeded where Anwar didn't.
At a time of such global change and uncertainty, it's certainly sad and unfortunate that the incoming Prime Minister would put Malaysians through all of this. Instead of convincing Malaysians that he will make a good Prime Minister, Najib has curiously chosen to score short-term partisan points by orchestrating the downfall of a legitimately elected government. Whatever the outcome of this Perak fiasco, one thing is certain: it will be yet another blow to the public perception of Umno and BN.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) made its case for taking over the Perak state government today when a PKR state assemblyman defected back to Umno while three independents pledged their support for the coalition.
Jamaludin Mohd Radzi, Osman Jailu, Hee Yit Foong will back a BN government while Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who had just two weeks earlier defected to PKR returned back to Umno.
“BN now has the majority to form the next government. We will seek an audience with the Perak Sultan.
“BN has 28 seats now, which is equal with Pakatan Rakyat, but we have three extra who are friendly to Umno and BN,” Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.
All four assemblymen appeared at the press cobnference with Najib.
Jamaluddin, Osman and Hee had earlier turned independent while Nasarudin had defected to PKR less than two weeks ago.
With their defections, it is looking likely that BN will get to form the state government.
More PKR lawmakers are expected to defect to BN.
Related posts:
* tic-tac-toe game in Perak State Assembly
From TheStar
Perak govt falls, BN claims majority
Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has just left Istana Kinta and told reporters that it was up to Sultan Azlan Shah to choose to dissolve the State Assembly or not. He will be holding a press conference at 6pm.
Barisan Nasional now commands the majority to form the state government in Perak with the return of Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim and the support of three independents -- Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, DAP’s Jelapang assemblyman and Perak state assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Najib said he would be seeking an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah in a day or two to inform him of Barisan's ability to form the new state government. Barisan and Pakatan now have 28 seats each. The three independents support Barisan, Najib said.
Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is still in audience with Sultan Azlan Shah to seek his consent to dissolve the state assembly. He was seen entering Istana Kinta at 3:50pm.
Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, DAP's Jelapang assemblyman and Perak state assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong and Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim spotted at the office of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
IPOH: Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin left Istana Kinta at 5.40pm and told reporters that it was now up to Sultan Azlan Shah to decide if the state assembly is to be dissolved.
Perak assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering)have quit PKR and Jamaluddin said on Wednesday that they were on the way to Putrajaya to join Umno.
Speculation is also rife that DAP’s Jelapang assemblyman and Perak state assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong has defected or at least quit the party.
In the March 8 national polls, PKR won Perak with 32 seats against 27 Barisan seats.
On Tuesday, Nizar had reiterated that he would not be calling for state elections given the political developments of the past week but was prepared for any by-election.
---------------------------------------------
From MalaysiaInsider
BN set to form Perak govt as Sultan defers decision on dissolution
IPOH, Feb 4 – A Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Perak is looking all but certain after a PKR state assemblyman defected back to Umno while three independents pledged their support for the coalition.
Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin also failed to secure consent from Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the state assembly in his last ditch attempt to have fresh polls and head off BN's attempt to seize power.
“The decision is now with the Sultan,” Nizar told reporters after an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.
At a press conference in Putrajaya earlier, Deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced to reporters that Jamaludin Mohd Radzi, Osman Jailu and Hee Yit Foong would back a BN government while Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who had just two weeks earlier defected to PKR, would rejoin Umno.
“BN now has the majority to form the next government. We will seek an audience with the Perak Sultan.
“BN has 28 seats now, which is equal with Pakatan Rakyat, but we have three extra who are friendly to Umno and BN,” Najib said
He added that the three independent lawmakers had also informed the Sultan in a letter sent yesterday that they had quit their parties.
All four assemblymen appeared at the press conference with Najib.
Jamaluddin, Osman and Hee had earlier turned independent while Nasarudin had defected to PKR less than two weeks ago.
“The situation in the state is critical. I have to make sacrifices,” Nasarudin said when asked why he had decided to rejoin Umno.
The other three did not speak to reporters.
With their defections, it is looking likely that BN will get to form the state government.
More PKR lawmakers are also expected to defect to BN.
Najib said BN representatives would meet the Sultan as soon as possible to seek his consent to form the next state government.
With the defections to BN, the Pakatan Rakyat will only have 28 seats to Barisan Nasional’s 31 in the 59-seat assembly.
Nizar is now resting PR’s hopes on the Sultan in the hope that consent will still be granted for fresh polls.
The PR alliance of PKR, Pas and DAP are confident of winning fresh polls with a bigger mandate.
But with a four seat majority, and more defections likely, the Sultan looks likely to accept BN’s offer to form the next government.
I'm sure you are very familiar with the game of tic-tac-toe, which is a game where nobody win and can be very boring. Now, Perak is facing the same situation with her state assemblymen.
Days ago, an UMNO assemblymen defected to PKR and today, it has been officially revealed that two PKR assemblymen have resigned from the party and likely to join UMNO. It's clearly a game of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" between Anwar and Najib. The last count for the 59 Perak State Assembly is that Pakatan Raykat hold 30 state seats and Barisan Nasional hold 27 state seats with two seats up for grabs in if by-elections are called.
From TheStar
Perak on the brink
IPOH: The Perak government is teetering on the edge with the resignation of two PKR representatives announced by the state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar earlier Sunday being challenged.
Sivakumar said he had received two faxed letters stating that Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and Mohd Osman Jailu had resigned their posts as assemblymen of Behrang and Changkat Jering respectively.
Their resignations are effective 5:45pm Sunday, he said in a statement, adding that this paved the way for by-elections in the two constituencies within 60 days.
He said he would inform the Election Commission officially Monday morning.
The Commission would then deliberate if and when by-elections are to be called.
However Jamaluddin denied vacating his seat. He said the resignation letter that was supposedly sent to Sivakumar was actually an old, undated “resignation letter” that he and the other six PKR assemblymen were forced to sign in late March last year.
“I am still the state assemblyman for Behrang. I have not resigned. I will challenge the validity of the letter as it was signed under duress,” he claimed, adding that he was discussing with his lawyers as to his next course of action.
He said there was no reason for him to resign his post just because he had problems with PKR leaders.
“My problems are with PKR leaders, not with the people of Behrang. I will not simply shirk my responsibilities to them,” he said.
He also denied rumours that he would be crossing over to Umno and Barisan Nasional, but confirmed that he would quit PKR and remain as an independent.
Mohd Osman could not be reached for comments as at press time.
Their resignations, whether valid or not, come after days of speculation that they were going to defect to Umno.
The Pakatan Rakyat state government is holding on with a razor-thin margin. It now holds 30 state seats against Barisan Nasional’s 27, with two seats up for grabs in the 59-seat State Assembly if by-elections are called.
Worse, rumours are also rife that Perak state assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Fong, the DAP representative for Jelapang, is going to resign as well and join MCA.
When contacted at her home Sunday night, Hee declined to comment.
Missing in action
Earlier Sunday, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said that neither the state nor family members had been able to reach the two Perak state executive councillors.
He even said the state government would lodge a police report after consulting with their families.
Jamaluddin, 52, was the Perak Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman while Mohd Osman, 57, headed the State Tourism and NGO Committee.
They were charged in a Sessions Court on Aug 25 last year with allegedly receiving bribes over the application for a RM180mil housing project in Sri Iskandar in Perak Tengah. Their case comes up for hearing on Feb 10.
After Umno’s Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim crossed over to PKR last week, PKR and Umno have been involved in a psychological war, with both accusing each other of trying to pinch their assemblymen.
Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman have not been seen in public since Nasarudin crossed over to PKR last Sunday, with the media also failing to reach them for comments.
Speculation had been rife in Perak that the exco duo were going to resign from PKR and become Independents before joining Umno later.
No worries
PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa said he only knew about the resignation Sunday night and had yet to receive a full report on the matter.
“I do not think that there would be more (people resigning or defecting). As it is, we are calling for a meeting to discuss the matter.
“More will be known on Monday morning,” he said, adding that the decision on who would contest in the by-elections had yet to be reached.
PKR information chief Tian Chua said that PKR is confident that it would be able to retain the seats in Behrang and Changkat Jering.
“We’re not worried -- we have succeeded in taking over the two seats from Barisan in the past, let alone retaining what we already have,” he said.
-----------------------------------
From MalaysiaInsider
Missing Pakatan lawmaker denies resigning, Perak in chaos
By Leslie Lau
IPOH, Feb 1 — Perak was thrown into a state of confusion tonight after at least one of two missing PKR state legislators denied resigning, hours after the state legislative speaker declared their seats vacant.
Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mat Radzi said tonight that the “resignation letter” received by the speaker this evening was an undated document he was made to sign last March.
His “denial” will throw up questions on the legality or legitimacy of undated resignation letters, and also puts the focus on whether it will be the speaker, the Election Commission or even the courts which will decide such issues.
It is also the latest act in a power struggle which has lasted for weeks for control of the state government.
Earlier the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in Perak appeared to have turned the tables on Barisan Nasional (BN) after the state legislative speaker declared vacant the two state seats held by the two PKR lawmakers who were expected to defect.
This would pave the way for by-elections for the two seats within 60 days.
Talk is also rife that a number of Umno state assemblymen are in talks to defect to PR.
The Speaker V Sivakumar said in a statement this evening that he had received resignation letters from the two PKR men had.
Sivakumar said he had received the letters by fax at his house.
He added that the Election Commission would be informed of the vacancy tomorrow.
The announcement capped a dramatic day which began when Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin said he would lodge a police report over the disappearance of Jamaluddin and Changkat Jering assemblyman Osman Jailu.
There have been swirling rumours that Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman, who were charged in a Sessions Court on Aug 25 last year with allegedly receiving bribes over the application for a RM180mil housing project in Sri Iskandar in Perak Tengah, may have decided to defect to Umno in the hopes of getting off the charge.
Their case comes up for hearing on Feb 10.
It appears now that the resignation letters from the two men were undated documents submitted to party leaders immediately after the March general elections.
PR officials in Ipoh say they are confident of retaining the two vacant seats and have indicated that they are also optimistic of a number of defections from BN to strengthen their hold on the state government.
This latest political drama had been sparked by the defection of Umno’s Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim to PKR.
Following Nasarudin’s defection, the two PKR men disappeared.
Besides the two PKR men, there had also been rumours that that Hee Yit Fong, the deputy state assembly speaker and a DAP assemblyman is considering a defection to MCA.
The Malaysian Insider understands she wants to leave DAP because she does not get along with Nga Kor Ming, a DAP state exco member and Ngeh Koo Ham, the Perak DAP boss and senior exco member.
What is Ongkili grumbling about ? Anwar, the de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat is not going to de-stablize the government of Barisan Nasional. Rather, Anwar want to take over the government. Get rid of Barisan Nasional to be specific.
If Ongkili is worry about frog-jumping (so called party-hopping) ministers, he must have forgotten that frog-jumping started in Sabah when during previous election, some elected representatives from Parti Bersatu Sabah jumped ship and sailed with USNO. Those incident caused the down-fall of PBS.
That just illustrates how volatile is the loyalty of Sabah politicians. And it is only natural for Anwar to entice the Barisan Nasional elected representatives to abandon BN and joined PR. Anwar however, has been very cleared from the beginning. Those party-hopper will not be PAID for. They must hopped on their on accord and free will.
It's only BN who will paid traitors from opposition party to join BN and create downfall for the ruling opposition party. That was history. Both members of PR and some elected representatives from BN are aware that now is the right time to change the government from BN to PR. The possibility of that happening is very real and very high.
If Sabah and Sarawak does not have fair share in the government administration, might as well they swing their support to PR. Who knows, PR may offer better package for Sabah and Sarawak.
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Extracted from: thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/15/nation/20080415190625&sec=nation (Apr 15, 2008)
Ongkili: Anwar wants to destabilise Govt
By LOH FOON FONG
PETALING JAYA: PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been criticised by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) for continuing to talk about MPs crossing over to Pakatan Rakyat.
PBS deputy president Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said Anwar's actions were only intended to destabilise the Government.
“Why does he continue to engage in destabilising the Government by enticing members to cross floors? Not only is this unprincipled but downright dangerous.
“Why doesn’t he let the Government do its job just as Barisan Nasional allows the Opposition state governments to do their work? They should cooperate and let the Government run its show,” he said during his visit to the Meteorological Department here Tuesday.
Ongkili, who is also Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, was asked to comment on Anwar’s statement that Pakatan Rakyat was ready to form the Federal Government and was waiting for the right time and numbers.
On Monday night after a rally to celebrate the end of his ban from active politics at the Sultan Sulaiman Club field, Anwar said Pakatan Rakyat had already secured the number of MPs but wanted to form the Government with a strong majority.
He added that none of the MPs had been bought over.
Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33305 (Mar 31, 2008)
Government’s dilemma enacting anti-hop law
By Datuk Seri Herman Luping
THERE are those who are against the introduction of the proposed anti-hop law in the country, and there are those in favour of it. Those against cite the problem of going against the fundamental right of man to free association as is provided in the federal constitution; those in favour argue that the enactment of anti-hop law would ensure a stable democratic institution that is free from corruption and a transparent government.
They further argue that if it is the wish of the people, then the question of going against the fundamental right to free association does not arise.
Two prominent leaders are not in favour of the enactment. In Sarawak, Dato Sri Dr James Masing was quoted as saying that the anti-hop law would be against the federal constitution in respect of free association with any party or organisation; and in Sabah, Datuk Masidi Manjun expressed similar sentiments.
The popular opinion so far expressed in the newspapers, however, is in favour of such an enactment.
Party-hopping is not new to the Sabah political scene. During the PBS administration under Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin, the government had a traumatic experience caused by the action of selfish and unscrupulous politicians who did not have any qualms about changing sides.
The first time was in 1985. The PBS obtained a simple majority in the State Legislative Assembly against the Berjaya party. The PBS formed the government and immediately PBS assemblymen were targeted to switch sides so that the PBS government would fall.
History concerning this episode would show that two assemblymen, namely the elected independent candidate of Moyog but was supported by the PBS machine and more particularly by Datuk Clarence Bongkos Malakun who campaigned for him during the election, and the elected candidate for Bingkor, decided to cross over to Usno.
The two assemblymen were taken to Kuala Lumpur. They were encamped in a big hotel and tried to influence the assemblyman for Kiulu to join them. Had the Kiulu assemblyman agreed to fly over to KL to join the two, the PBS government would have fallen.
The telephone conversation of the ‘leader’ who wanted to be known as Mr Brown was monitored in PBS headquarters when he phoned the Kiulu assemblyman giving him direction on how to avoid PBS Youth. From the conversation we gathered at the time, police personnel were involved in the party-hopping exercise.
A third person, a non-Bumiputera assemblyman was seen to be on his way to KL to join the two. Before he managed to fly over, however, the chief minister abruptly dissolved the assembly and called for a new election in 1986. The takeover by the opposition party, Usno, was averted. PBS was returned with a bigger majority at the 1986 election.
It was because of this traumatic experience presented to the PBS leadership by selfish assemblymen that the party president Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan decided to introduce an anti-hop law in the state constitution.
I was the state attorney general at the time and it fell on me to prepare the anti-hop enactment. I studied the constitutional provisions on anti-hop laws in other parts of the Commonwealth countries and found that many states in India had provisions for anti-hop laws in their constitutions.
But the one that interested me was the provision of the same law in the Singapore constitution. Indeed, the wording in the Sabah anti-hop enactment was almost an exact copy of the Singapore’s provisions. There is a difference of course between Sabah and Singapore. Whereas the first, Sabah has a federal constitution to contend with, the latter, Singapore was and is a nation of its own.
The Sabah enactment was contested in court and the Federal Court found that the Sabah enactment was ultra vires the federal constitution and declared it null and void.
If Sabah was part of the BN government at that time, it is debatable whether the Sabah enactment on anti-hop law would have been tested in the Federal Court. It was possible that a suitable ‘Enabling Act’ would have been enacted in the federal constitution so that amendment to states’ constitution on the matter of anti-hop law would have been possible.
As it was, the decision of the Federal Court made the Sabah anti-hop law redundant and of no effect.
The second time when the PBS administration under Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin experienced selfish party-hoppers was after the election in 1994. Pairin was sworn in after a long delay for him to enter the Istana gate. And soon after, ‘agents’ were roaming everywhere looking for likely assemblymen who would want to change sides. Three were ‘cornered’, enough to cause the fall of the PBS government.
The first was the assemblyman for Beaufort; the second was the assemblyman for Tenom and the third was the appointed assemblyman from Labuan.
‘Agents’ from Sarawak were believed to be the persons who were in the forefront of ‘enticing’ the three assemblymen. A huge amount of money was said to have been paid, but this latter was conjectural and might not be true. But the presence of ‘agents’ from Sarawak was actually clever.
Agents from Sarawak were believed to have been used in the 1985 episode too, just as they were used in 1994. The use of agents who were not Sabahans was clever in that no one in Sabah could be blamed for enticing or buying assemblymen.
The three persons caused the fall of the PBS government. Umno and other BN component parties took over the governance of the state. And there was also another side effect as a result of the fall of PBS in 1994.
The party split into three ways and today, the PBS splinter parties are still there — the PBRS of Kurup and Upko of Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
There is a question mark as to which of the two splinter parties have the honour of being the ‘first’ to move away from PBS and join the BN. Both were later awarded the nation’s high award — Tan Sri, whilst the original leader and founder of PBS, their former boss, was awarded a state award, a Datuk Seri Panglima, or first class Datukship only. Someone told me that such is the vagaries of politics.
Sabah is actually a land of party-hoppers. This phenomenon started a long time ago — in 1967 to be exact. In the 1967 election, Usno obtained 14 seats, Upko 12 and SCA, 5. There was one independent returned: Datuk Yap Pak Leong who defeated the incumbent chief minister Datuk Peter Lo.
When the Cabinet was formed, Upko leaders were excluded. The Cabinet consisted of the Usno and SCA leaders only.
The combined strength of Usno and SCA in the legislative assembly was 19, giving the two parties a simple majority. The Usno adviser from Kedah apparently wanted to amend the state constitution and for this a two-third majority in the legislative assembly was needed.
So ‘agents’ were employed to entice Upko assemblymen. Only two were needed.
The first person so enticed was the assemblyman from Kiulu. This man then had the single honour of being the first turncoat in the history of Sabah’s party-hoppers. He was later made a state minister although it was said that he only had a Primary 2 education.
His inclusion in the cabinet was partly to reward him for his ‘gallant’ turncoat exercise and partly to make up for the lack of Kadazan representation in the Cabinet.
The second turncoat was the assemblyman from Kuala Penyu.
Part of the reason why a two-third majority was needed was to amend the constitutional provisions on expatriate officers.
Specifically, the adviser from Kedah wanted to get rid of the white attorney general. So he asked him (the white AG) to draft the bill to be introduced in the legislative assembly. The AG saw what it was all about. He resigned. And went back to his country.
The stage was then set for the formation of the Sabah Foundation, the one and only biggest timber concessionaire in the country with the adviser as the first executive director.
‘Frog culture’ as the party-hopping was later called was in fact peculiar only to the Sabah political scene. The popular belief then was that Sabah politicians became Yang Berhormat not so much because they wanted to help the people or the country, but the big ‘bonus’ they expect to get. And more if they were ‘enticed’ to jump over to another party.
The question of moral, integrity and principle did not come into the equation for these people, they said. It seems to me that an anti-hop law is a necessity if we are to improve the performance of our YBs in the country.
The federal constitution should be amended to provide for an anti-hop law. I agree with the many views which are in favour of such a law in Malaysia.
Hold by-election when reps hop
By Lim How Pim
Morally wrong for MP elected on one party’s ticket to join another party, says SPDP
KUCHING: A by-election should be held in constituencies where elected representatives have switched parties, said Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) deputy president, Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie.
Supporting recent suggestions for the introduction of a law prohibiting party hopping, he said it was morally wrong for an MP elected on one party’s ticket to join another party. “I think the best way to stop party-hopping is to make or amend the law, maybe the election law, to provide for a by-election to be held after an MP has deserted his party,” he said when contacted by The Borneo Post here yesterday.
The Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation and Co-operatives) asserted that an MP could contest under the ticket of the party he wanted to hop to and he or she deserved the status again only if they won the by-election.
“At the moment, any MP can hop because there is no law governing it. It is not right and it’s against democratic principle to hop to another party, especially to the opposition,” he said, adding that voters elected them because of their original party. Nyarok, who is also Krian assemblyman, said if any Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs hopped to the opposition they “should be ashamed of themselves”.
“People elect you (as MPs) to serve them and if you hop to the opposition to go against BN, it is just not right,” he said.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak liaison chairman said the proposal for the law was not new as Sabah had passed a similar law before.
“Sabah passed it, but whether it was found unconstitutional, I’m not too sure,” said Dominique Ng.
The Padungan assemblyman stressed that elected members who hopped from one party to another were usually “those who have not much principle”.
In spite of being in favour of the proposal, Ng said he doubted the sincerity of those who proposed the law, which might suit only the needs of certain parties.
In Sabah, he said, the law was aimed at preventing bigger parties from persuading YBs (elected representatives) to cross over to them. He thus hoped that a similar legislation would not be proposed to serve the selfish purpose of certain parties.
Citing Engkilili assemblyman Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa as an example, he said the YB who won the state election (in 2006) as an independent candidate had immediately switched camp.
“Look at what happened to Dr Johnical. We don’t want this kind of people. We don’t want people who pretend to be good,” he said.
Having pointed out that the Federal Constitution “guarantees freedom of association”, he said the law might be found to be unconstitutional unless the government was willing to challenge and change the supreme law itself.
Last Saturday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim said he would propose to the cabinet to formulate a law prohibiting party hopping.
He said the act of switching parties after a general election was immoral.
A Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) faction leader, Larry Sng, described party-hopping as unhealthy for both the government and the opposition.
Concurring with Nyarok, he said it was good to have such a federal law considering that party-hopping had taken place in the past.
“I believe that most of the organisations will welcome the proposal. I think it is important to have such a law for the reason that people are promised based on certain manifesto during election time,” he said, adding that elected MPs should keep their promises.
Sng, who is also Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Economic Planning), reckoned that elected representatives should not hop to another party for personal interest, and if it happened it was equivalent to betraying voters’ trust.
While hoping that law could be proposed and adopted to prevent party-hopping, he also suggested that such law be extended to state assemblymen.
“Not only MPs, similar legislation can also be passed to apply to state assemblymen,” added the Pelagus assemblyman.
On Sunday, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan was reported to be in favour of a proposed federal law aimed at making party-hopping illegal for MPs.
“Yes. Why not? It is not good for our country if elected representatives jump here and there immediately after their loyal supporters voted them in,” he said, adding that party-hopping by MPs betrayed the trust of their supporters.
Singapore has such a law to control party-hopping and to maintain stability, said Dr Chan, who is also a Deputy Chief Minister, believing that the law would benefit the government, the opposition and more so their loyal supporters.
PRS president, Dato Sri Dr James Masing, however, has some reservations about anti-hopping laws, saying: “…it would be difficult (to enforce) because one cannot legislate conscience”.
He told reporters on Sunday that no amount of legal argument or law could stop people from party-hopping.
http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=33074 (Mar 25, 2008)
MD Says:
Some quarters said Malaysia need a law to prohibit elected Member of Parliament (MP) to switch parties after being elected. Some quarters have reservations about anti-party hopping.
A by-election should be held in constituencies where elected representatives have switched parties is a good proposal. That maybe can discourage party hopping among traitorous MP who abandoned voters trusts for their personal gain in the new party.Dominique Ng, the Padungan assemblyman under PKR stressed that elected members who hopped from one party to another were usually “those who have not much principle”. Did he forgot that he once was a member of DAP ?
SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan was reported to be in favour of a proposed federal law aimed at making party-hopping illegal for MPs. Hah ! Maybe he also forgot that his party colleague, Dr Jerip Susil (ADUN Bengoh) was once a party member of STAR.
Related post:
* Why need an anti-party hopping law
Nik Aziz Supports Anti-hopping Law
KOTA BAHARU, March 22 (Bernama) -- Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is all for an anti-party hopping law to be enacted, describing politicians who engaged in it as "shameless creatures".
"They are not humans if they can be bought and sold like commodities," he told reporters after attending a thanksgiving for Senator Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, who was just appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, at the latter's residence here Saturday.
He said this when asked to comment on a suggestion by Mohd Zaid that a law be enacted to curb such practice.
"During PAS' previous term in Kelantan when we just had single seat majority in the state assembly, several of our assemblyman were offered up top RM7 million each to defect but could not be enticed because they were people of principles ," Nik Abdul Aziz added.
The PAS' spiritual advisor also said that the Barisan Nasional needs to do some soul searching was to why it fared very badly in the election.
Source: http://www.bernama.com/ (Mar 22, 2008)
MD Says:
Why is there a need for an anti-party hopping law for Malaysian politicians ? The anti-party hopping law was muted by some BN leaders to prevent their members from switching party. One of the opposition leader, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz also support the call. He might be worried that the BN pinched their representatives.
However, you don't need a law to enforce the politicians against switching party. The politicians themselves should be more ethical as the voters voted for them based on the party. That's why a party need a campaign Manifesto !. We hardly heard any news of foreign politicians switching side in their country as they stand on their principal of loyalty to their party and members.
Not so in Malaysia. Some politicians treated their party as mere temporarily shelter and are willing to hop to another party for the sake of money and power.
Now, it is BN's turn to worry about party hopping because they are scared of exodus of their members to the opposition camps. And when that happen, BN majority rule will be eroded and the government of Malaysia might changed hand. But this is hypocrite of BN since they also have bought over opposition members to their camp. This happen in the last few elections and that was how, PBS of Sabah lost their rule.
As a voter, you are being short-change by the politician that you voted on. Those that hopped, betrayed your trust and treats the election as a circus for their own personal agenda and interest. Next time, vote them out.
