Kissing frogs to find upstanding politicians

 

On Aug 10, a frog belonging to one Seth Burlingham won first prize at the 2021 annual Ashtabula county fair frog jumping competition. People cheered as the frog leaped 11 feet 5 inches (3.47m) to clinch the top spot in Ashtabula, Ohio, in the United States.

Earlier, in May, a frog named Firefly was reported to have jumped 20 feet 1 inch (6.12m) to win the Calaveras county fair frog jumping competition. The jump was short of the US national record of 21 feet 5.75 inches (6.54m) set in 1986 by a frog named Rosie the Ribiter.

Quite a number of counties in the US have these frog jumping contests as part of a fun and gaiety programme to bring the local community together, with May 13 named National Frog Jumping Day.

If there ever were to be a national frog jumping day in Malaysia, it would have to be just after a general election or a state election. For that is the time politicians show off their jumping skills – hopping from the party which gave them a ticket to contest in the election to the party in power.

In the process they betray the trust of the voting public. But, hey, what’s the problem? They can still serve the constituents, most of whom will forget about the betrayal in no time.

Many blame the present mess we are in to a number of politicians acting frog-like and jumping parties around the time of the Sheraton Move.

To be fair, we couldn’t have avoided the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant economic problems even if there had been no Sheraton Move. However, it’s likely that these would not have blown into crises. And we would not have to simultaneously face political turmoil and a constitutional crisis if we had a stable government with better leaders.

It would not be inaccurate to say that almost every major party in the nation has at least a few politicians who crossed over from another party. Some parties are made up largely of politicians who defected from some other party. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu is a good example.

And we all know that Sabah politicians have won recognition for being excellent jumpers. In Sarawak too we have seen politicians leaping away from their original party.

The thing is, we, as voters, know it is not something new, although the number of political frogs has increased by leaps and bounds in the last few years. We rant about it and denounce elected representatives who jump party but when the election comes, we forget all about it.

There have been numerous calls over the years by various groups for an anti-hopping law but nothing has come of it. Do you seriously expect politicians to pass a law to constrain themselves? Then again, isn’t it part of their democratic right to associate with whomever or whichever party they like?

Have you noticed how leaders of political parties will protest loudly and even call for anti-hopping laws when someone from their side crosses over but remain silent when an elected representative from the other side joins them?

The onus really is on us – the voters. Unfortunately, when the general election comes many of us tend to forgive the frogs and accept their word that they did it for the good of their electorate and that they have nothing but the interest of the people at heart.

Most Malaysians vote for the party, not so much the candidate, and therefore if the party of their choice lets the “jumper” stand on its ticket in the following election, they’ll still vote for him. The vote will definitely go to that person if race or religion is played up by the party concerned.

If, for instance, a party says the Malays or the Chinese have to win to ensure the survival of Islam or the Chinese language, then Malay and Chinese voters will almost certainly forget all about the candidate’s jumping history; or whatever else is wrong with him or her.

How many of us can truly say we are revolted by any politician who jumps party? Only a handful. Isn’t it true that if we support party A and someone from party B crosses over, we cheer it secretly or at least accept it quietly? Isn’t it true that if someone from the party we support hops to another party, we howl in anger and call him or her a frog?

It’s time we as voters reflected on our sense of justice and what we want exactly. To hold our elected representatives to a higher standard, we need to have higher standards too. If politicians betray the voting public, it is because they know they will not be punished.

The only way to stop party hopping is for citizens to vote out all those who jumped parties in the past two years – no matter who they are – in the next general election.

We should also ensure that politicians who promote justice and fairplay and who are clean and competent – and we do have them – get reelected. As voters, we should continue to vote for more people like them so that the problem of switching parties is lessened, if not eliminated.

Most, if not all voters, yearn for the “right” politician to come along and lead the nation. We all want our MPs to be honest and hardworking, with strong integrity. Very often, we jump for joy when our vote puts someone who shows tremendous promise in Parliament or the state legislative assembly, only to be disappointed a few years down the road, or when they decide to jump parties.

This is because when we vote, we trust the words of the candidate, but as an American proverb says: “You can’t tell by looking at a frog how high he will jump.”

In a sense, all of us are searching for the frog that can turn into a charming prince. Remember that story? Briefly, a beautiful princess kisses a frog which then transforms into a handsome prince.

The princess in the tale was fortunate to have kissed the “right” frog though. In real life, kissing the wrong frog could kill you, for some types of frogs have poisonous skin and a kiss could mean a painful death, or at least bodily irritation. In fact, the golden poison frog, native to Central and South America, is said to be the most poisonous animal in the world.

Given the frustration among many Malaysians, I’m sure some would be willing to kiss politicians if there was a guarantee that doing so would turn these politicians into real frogs.

Kissing a politician, however, will get you into trouble, unless you happen to be the spouse. More so if you’re both of the same gender. So please don’t do it.

Most young people would know that the popular fairy tale has given birth to a modern saying: “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince charming”.

So, metaphorically speaking, I suppose we’ll have to kiss many frogs before we find a truly upstanding politician, the “right” one. That is why it is important to keep our eyes open, our heads clear and use our vote wisely. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.