VOTERS in Gombak and Ampang in Selangor, who supported Mohamed Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin in the last general election, are disappointed and angry with their defections, which led to the fall of the 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan government.
They told The Malaysian Insight they feel betrayed by the two veteran parliamentarians.
They said the government must enact anti-party hopping laws to stop such defections and to protect the mandate given by the people in elections.
Gombak MP Azmin and Ampang’s Zuraida defected to Bersatu along with nine other PKR lawmakers to allow Muhyiddin Yassin to become the next prime minister.
Bersatu left the PH coalition and joined forces with Umno and PAS to form the new Perikatan Nasional federal government.
“I voted for Zuraida hoping that all corruption would be ended but now, she jumped ship and is working with those corrupt politicians.
“I cast my vote after waiting for almost five hours. I feel all my efforts are now wasted because this person has jumped party,” said former civil servant Hamdan Wahid, 65.
Hamdan said he feels dejected about Zuraida’s betrayal.
A law should be enacted to prevent MPs from jumping parties, he said, adding that even if a MP is allowed to switch parties, the seat should remain with the party.
“There is no need to spend money on another election. If a MP switches party, then only the person leaves. The seat should be awarded to another person from the party that won the seat.
“We voted for the party, not the individual,” said Hamdan.
Another Ampang voter, who only wanted to be known as Raymond, said politicians care more about their own agenda rather than about the public or nation.
The political crisis last week showed how selfish politicians can be and how they can abuse the people’s trust, he said.
“Last week, we saw the politicians’ true colours. They are only concerned about their life and want to secure themselves.
“It doesn’t matter if it means working with your enemy. At the end of the day, the citizens are fooled,” said Raymond, an electrical technician.
Fadzil Farid also shared the same sentiment, saying what was done by Zuraida was unacceptable.
Instead of being part of a team that formed a back-door government, he said, Zuraida should have stepped down with dignity.
“Not a fair thing to do. It is a betrayal. Step down and let the people choose their preferred member of Parliament. That is the right thing,” he said.
Despite that, Fadzil believes that with the new government, the nation has better prospects of economic growth, and that Bumiputeras will have better opportunities.
“Last couple of years, there were no major improvements in the economy. They (PH) promised the moon and stars in their manifesto but nothing of that sort was done or accomplished.
“However, with this new government, I feel there is a sense of hope. The Bumis will also get a chance to shine. I’m hoping that the new prime minister has some good ideas to revive the economy,” said Fadzil, who is an executive officer.
The sentiment against Azmin was the same in Gombak, where he had been the MP since 2008.
Sheila Munusamy, who runs a sundry shop, said she is not pleased with her MP’s decision to work with Umno and PAS.
She said she voted for the former economic affairs minister in the last general election because she was tired of Barisan Nasional and wanted a change.
However, the news of Azmin joining hands with Umno and PAS upset her.
“Betrayal. Absolute betrayal of the people’s trust. He promised a lot of things under the previous banner he was contesting for.
“Now, he conveniently jumped party for his own benefit. So, what else do we call this, besides betrayal,” the 42-year-old said.
Sheila also said the new government will try to do everything within its power to impress the public so that it can win the next elections.
“I think they will work just to show the public that they are a capable government. It is also to impress the people so that they get the votes in the next election,” she said.
Another Gombak voter, Jackie Yee, a food stall operator, said he is angry with what Azmin has done and said he deserves being called a traitor.
Jackie said Gombak voters will need to show that they can be “traitors”, too, in the next elections and vote against Azmin.
“I’m so angry with him because he has his own political motive. What he had done was betrayal and he deserves to be called a traitor.
“In the next elections, we will show that we can be traitors, too. We will show our loyalty to others who contest against Azmin,” said the 52-year-old.
As for Mohd Faiz Nor, a financial consultant and a voter in the Gombak constituency, he said politics is all about being dirty and looking to benefit one’s own agenda.
He said although it is normal for politicians to switch parties, working with those who were booted from the government by the people does not give a good picture.
“Politics is dirty and anything can happen. Politicians have their own agenda, let they be who they are.
“What Azmin did was betraying the trust of voters, not by joining Bersatu but by working with Umno and PAS, which Malaysians did not want in the government.
“He conveniently brought them in through the back door and formed the government. Not a mature move,” he said, adding that he, too, wants an anti-hopping law to be enacted.
However, as a financial consultant, Faiz said he expects the new leadership to focus on the nation’s economy rather than focusing on race and religious issues.
“One way for them (new government) to win the trust and confidence of the public is to restore the nation’s economy, and not dwell on race and religion issues.
“When the nation is performing well economically, people will tend to move on from these issues and have confidence in the leadership.”
Best time for Sarawak to ‘squeeze’ Putrajaya
THE chances of Sarawak getting Putrajaya to comply fully with the terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and reinstate eroded rights are greater now than at any other time, said analysts.
This is because the Perikatan Nasional government of Muhyiddin Yassin is standing at the edge of the precipice with Gabungan Parti Sarawak – whose 18 MPs tilted the balance of power in last week’s scramble to become prime minister.
“Now it’s time for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to live up to the promises they have been agreed on to keep GPS’ support,” Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) political scientist Jayum Jawan told The Malaysian Insight
“It definitely falls on Muhiyiddin now to please GPS and Sarawak.
“His position as prime minister is precarious and he needs GPS to show he has the majority support.”
The crunch time for the show of support, Jayum said, will come when parliament resumes on May 18 and when Muhyiddin will have to show he has the numbers.
The Sarawak-born analyst said some of the grouses, particularly those related to the MA63, might not be given overnight.
However, he believes as long as Sarawak sees commitment in this, “GPS will stay with him (Muhyiddin)”.
On the other hand, Jayum said, the Sarawak coalition of four parties – Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) the lead party, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party )PDP) – too, have to be mindful of their positions.
“GPS is facing a state election and they would want a show of good faith from Muhyiddin to tell Sarawakians that GPS is good to safeguard the state’s interests.”
Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya agreed and said how far Muhyiddin is willing to concede will determine the fate of his administration.
Azman said whether Muhyiddin will be the shortest prime minister in the country’s history depends on if he could convince GPS leaders he is as good as his word, how much is he willing to concede and if the concessions would have an impact on GPS retaining power in the 2021 elections.
“I am dead certain all the political blocs tried to court GPS for support during the political crisis.
“I believe Sarawak sought concessions from all in return for the support. I’m sure the state’s grouses on oil royalties, oil exploration, eroded state rights and full compliance of the MA63 were laid on the table in the bargaining with all the parties,” he said.
Azman said it’s certain each of the political blocs headed by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and Muhyiddin offered attractive packages for political or statutory declaration support.
In the case of Muhyiddin, Azman said he could even go as far as promising Bersatu would not field any candidate in the state elections. PAS, he added, could do likewise.
PAS and Bersatu, which have branches in Sarawak, are members of the PN coalition.
Azman said in any case, Bersatu and PAS, if they do field candidates, would not offer much of a threat to GPS.
The threat will still come from DAP and PKR.
Last week, Santubong MP Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar disclosed that Dr Mahathir, whom GPS initially supported, agreed to the coalition’s demands in return for support.
When Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister and as chairman in Bersatu, GPS switched its support to Muhyiddin who offered himself as alternative to Anwar.
GPS refused to back Anwar because of his association with DAP, which GPS declared it’ll not work with.
On top of that, all the promises Pakatan Harapan made in the 2018 general election – 15% increase in oil royalty from 5% to 20%, return of autonomy on healthcare and education, revoking allocations in the 2018 national budget to development projects in Sarawak – were never fulfilled.
Petronas’ refusal to pay the state sales tax on petroleum products angered Sarawakians even further.
They see the national oil company’s action to challenge the payment of the state sales tax (SST) as the handiwork of Dr Mahathir who chairs Petronas’ board of directors.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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