It's not only about the numbers, it's about serving the people

THE news that the Pakatan Harapan government is inching towards a two-thirds majority in Parliament is cause for concern in more ways than one.

The first has to do with the manner in which the numbers are being achieved, which is by crossovers or party-hopping instead of via an election.

Here's a quick recap. At the close of GE14, the Pakatan coalition had won 113 seats, comprising 47 for PKR, 42 for DAP, 13 for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and 11 for Parti Amanah Negara. With eight seats for its ally Parti Warisan Sabah, the new federal government commanded the support of 121 MPs - a sufficiently strong simple majority in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

In the immediate aftermath of GE14, three MPs who won as independents joined PKR, bringing the party's total to 50 and Pakatan's to 124. Whatever one might think of their move, at least they didn't jump from another party. Furthermore, one of them had been backed by PKR in Batu while another won in Julau after Pakatan gave way to him for a direct contest against the incumbent.

Then the crossovers began, starting with the Labuan MP who quit Umno to join Warisan on Oct 11. On Oct 26, the Jeli MP, who was a former Cabinet minister joined Bersatu, followed by the Bagan Serai MP who also joined Bersatu on Nov 28, both having quit Umno earlier.

But when seven more ex-Umno MPs received their Bersatu membership cards on Feb 12, it prompted a widespread outcry, including from within Pakatan's ranks.

We are right to be concerned, because such defections are a betrayal of voters' trust and imply opportunism and a lack of principle among lawmakers. What makes it more galling is that Pakatan had pledged not to take in political frogs and had been staunchly against party-hopping when it happened to their detriment in the past. That crashing sound we hear is of a promise being broken.

But it's also worrying that the defections are a means for Bersatu to boost its numbers to 22 seats and to bring the federal government closer to a supermajority.

With Warisan and the Pakatan-friendly Upko, the government bloc now comprises 135 seats, 13 short of a two-thirds majority.

The Prime Minister has said a supermajority is needed to amend the Federal Constitution and push through Pakatan's reforms.

But allow me to differ. As I've said before, I don't think Malaysian voters should give any ruling coalition a two-thirds majority again. It concentrates too much power in the hands of the government, allowing it to bulldoze through constitutional amendments by the sheer force of numbers without meaningful debate or engagement with opposition lawmakers, stakeholders and the public.

As the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it follows that any amendment should be duly considered and debated at length before it is passed.

Without a two-thirds majority, the government will have to reach out to opposition MPs to seek support for any constitutional amendment it wishes to make. This in turn suggests that only sound, well-grounded amendments that serve the people's interests would gain the necessary support, while fostering a culture of strong debate and bipartisan cooperation.

Take for example the proposed amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, which is being considered by the special Cabinet committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Article 1(2) was amended in 1976 to downgrade the status of Sabah and Sarawak to the 12th and 13th states in Malaysia. It's been reported that the Bill to amend this constitutional provision was debated for only two days and passed the following day because, guess what, the government then had a two-thirds majority.

Now, amending Article 1(2) again to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia will require the federal government to enlist support from opposition MPs, particularly those from Sabah and Sarawak.

As this is a matter of interest to both states, it seems reasonable to expect that their MPs would be willing to engage with the government on this amendment.

So it doesn't mean that the government can't get things done without a two-thirds majority, it just means that it has to work harder to achieve constitutional amendments.

Therein lies a safeguard for the rakyat, in that the Constitution cannot be simply amended on a whim or fancy. And so we shouldn't stand for any further attempts to push the government towards a supermajority, for our sake and the wellbeing of our democratic institutions.-Star