Why Rafizi and Nik Nazmi’s resignation as MPs matters

 By resigning, Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad chose the harder, but principled route to uphold democratic integrity.

Monday was a historic day for me. I witnessed the announcement made by former ministers Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, resigning from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and simultaneously vacating their parliamentary seats of Pandan and Setiawangsa, respectively.

I consider it historic because I recognise the event as one of the rare, genuinely principled acts in modern Malaysian politics.

Whether one agrees with them politically is secondary. What matters is the democratic principle they chose to uphold.

Parliamentary seat as personal property

For far too long, Malaysian politics has suffered from a culture where elected representatives treat parliamentary seats as personal property rather than a mandate temporarily entrusted by voters.

Politicians in Malaysia are known to “jump” parties, commonly referred to as ‘kataks” (frogs), switch alliances, topple governments, and realign themselves with entirely different coalitions — while insisting they still have the “right” to keep their seats.

Technically legal, perhaps, until the recent anti-hopping law came into being, but still morally questionable. Rafizi and Nik Nazmi have taken the opposite approach, confining themselves within the current legislation.

By resigning their parliamentary seats to pursue a different political direction, they are effectively acknowledging a simple but powerful democratic truth; that the mandate does not belong to the politician.

It belongs to the rakyat.

They were elected under the PKR manifesto and political platform. Since they do not agree with its current leadership, or no longer wish to represent that party or platform, they believe voters should be given the opportunity to decide again.

I believe that is fair. After all, the word ‘adil’ in Bahasa Melayu (‘fair’ in English) is central to “Keadilan”. And that is how representative democracy is supposed to function.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, many politicians have drifted very far away from that principle over the last decade. They treat their elected seats as their personal property.

As a result, the country witnessed repeated episodes of party-hopping, defections, and Sheraton Move-type realignments, which I also had the misfortune to witness firsthand back in early March 2020, also in Petaling Jaya.

Political bargaining that overturns electoral outcomes without any election ever taking place is simply not acceptable.

Worse still, those involved include politicians who claim to represent an Islamic party — even its leaders — who were responsible for the government’s collapse through closed-door negotiations rather than the ballot box.

The damage caused was not merely political instability. The deeper damage was to public trust, the rise of cynicism, and the harmful example set for the younger generation.

Many Malaysians stopped believing their vote truly mattered because politicians appeared capable of rearranging power structures after elections are done, with little regard for what voters originally decided.

This erosion of trust is dangerous for any democracy — and should not be promoted by any religious-based parties at all.

When voters lose faith in the integrity of the system, political disengagement grows. Cynicism replaces participation. Elections begin to feel meaningless.

Eventually, democracy itself weakens because citizens, especially the younger generation, no longer believe in political platforms, manifestos and promises.

Future political legitimacy

This is why the decision by Rafizi and Nik Nazmi matters beyond their own political future.

Their move introduces a badly needed reminder that future political legitimacy must come from voters, not merely from legal loopholes or parliamentary arithmetic.

Critics may argue that by-elections are costly and politically disruptive, but democracy is never free to begin with.

The cost of conducting a by-election is still far lower than the long-term cost of normalising political betrayal and opportunistic defections, as proven by that Sheraton move episode which smacked of political manipulation, betrayal and upheaval. That method cannot be right.

In fact, one could argue that the political instability Malaysia experienced since 2018 has already cost the country far more — economically, institutionally and socially — than any by-election ever could.

The price we have to pay today is enormous, not to mention the continued corruption, embezzlement and mismanagement by some in the government.

Investor confidence has weakened. Policy continuity has suffered. Public trust has deteriorated. Political fatigue has become widespread and Malaysia is trapped in near-permanent political manoeuvring instead of focusing on governance and long-term reforms.

Much of that instability has stemmed from the idea that elected representatives are able to shift allegiances without returning to voters for approval.

That is precisely the political culture that Rafizi, Nik Nazmi and I believe many more will come out and challenge. More importantly, it restores accountability to where it belongs: with the electorate.

If every MP and ADUN understands that changing political allegiance requires returning to voters for a fresh mandate, party-hopping would immediately become far less attractive.

Politicians would think twice before abandoning the platform under which they campaigned. Backroom political engineering would become riskier. Parties would be forced to maintain genuine internal discipline and ideological clarity, instead of relying on defections to survive. Our entire political system would become healthier.

Leadership lessons

Politics in Malaysia today is often dominated by calculations about survival, positions, appointments and power retention. Principles are infrequently talked about during campaigns and totally abandoned once political power intervenes.

For those reasons, political leadership is deemed meaningless, non-progressive and open to abuse and misuse for personal gratification rather than true governance.

Rafizi and Nik Nazmi have demonstrated that political leaders still have the freedom to choose differently — and they have chosen the harder route.

They could easily have retained their parliamentary positions while citing technical justifications or constitutional ambiguities. Certainly, many before them have. Instead, they have opted to place their political future back in the hands of voters.

That decision carries risk, no doubt. They may lose. They may weaken their own political standing. But that is exactly why the act carries credibility.

Principles only mean something when there is a personal cost attached to upholding them.

This is also why Malaysians, regardless of party preference, should view this development positively.

One does not need to support Rafizi or Nik Nazmi politically to appreciate the democratic standard they are attempting to establish.

A mature democracy is not measured merely by who wins elections. It is measured by whether political actors respect the spirit of the mandate given by voters.

Malaysia desperately needs more of that political maturity. Imagine if this became the accepted national norm: If you leave the party or coalition under which you were elected, you resign and seek a fresh mandate.

Simple. Clean. Honourable. And surely Islamic, too, if one can add.

Such a culture would transform Malaysian politics almost overnight. It would discourage opportunism, strengthen voter confidence, stabilise governments, and force politicians to remain accountable to the electorate rather than merely to shifting political alliances.

For years, Malaysians have complained about the poor state of politics in the country. But political culture only improves when party leaders and members are willing to establish better norms through their own actions.

Rafizi and Nik Nazmi did exactly that.

The bigger question now is whether other politicians will ever be willing to follow their footsteps. - FMT

The author can be reached at: rosli@mdsconsultancy.com.

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