Anti-hopping law: ‘Do it for the people’

Such a legislation is needed because jumping from one party to another is a betrayal of the voters' mandate, says Gerakan.

GEORGE TOWN: Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat should set aside their partisan politics to jointly legislate anti-hopping laws to protect public interests, said a local Gerakan politician.

Penang Gerakan legal and human rights bureau head, Baljit Singh, said BN and Pakatan should do it for the sake of all Malaysians.

However, he said it was easier said than done because the majority of politicians, especially elected lawmakers, were too deeply engrossed in partisan politics.

He said they constantly stayed away from taking an independent stand on various issues merely to protect their respective party’s, not public, interests.

He said most politicians would react indifferently on party hopping depending on whether it was for or against party interests.

“But party hopping is against public interests. It’s a betrayal of the voters’ mandate,” Baljit told FMT.

Hence, he said it was time both BN and Pakatan set aside their political differences and amended the Federal Constitution to prevent party hopping among MPs and assemblymen.

“Both sides should do it before the next general election,” said Baljit, who has always been vocal against “political frogs”.

DAP supremo Karpal Singh has said the party would propose a constitutional amendment to deter party hopping by federal and state lawmakers if Pakatan were to capture Putrajaya.

Baljit said he was not surprised with Karpal’s statement since the DAP national chairman had always been consistently against party hopping.

He pointed out that PAS had also shown its clear stand against it vis-à-vis its Kelantan government’s anti-hopping law in the 1990s.

However, he is amazed with the indifferent stand taken by DAP’s “Lim Dynasty” and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim on the pressing issue.

The Lim Dynasty is a political idiom propagated by critics to portray DAP faction led by its national adviser Lim Kit Siang and, his son and secretary-general Guan Eng.

Inconsistent stand

Since the 2008 election, Baljit noted that Pakatan de facto leader Anwar and the Lims have been inconsistent on party-hopping.

He said while the Pakatan stalwarts were quick to slam those hopping from Pakatan as frogs, they have openly welcomed BN defectors.

“On the one hand, they paraded themselves as paragons of virtues. On the other, they conveniently abandon the virtues,” he said, referring to the stand taken by Anwar and Lims on recent high-profile defections from Sabah BN.

Tuaran MP Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin and Senator Maijol Mahap have all left BN and declared their support for Pakatan this month.

Baljit also recalled that the Lims’ silence was deafening when Anwar openly trumpeted the crossing over of political frogs among BN lawmakers to realise his Sept 16 dream to take over Putrajaya.

“The Lim Dynasty and Anwar must come out openly and denounce party-hopping among elected legislators.

“Karpal and PAS have stated their stands clearly, why can’t Anwar and the Lims?” he asked.