‘Tis the season to switch sides

 

This is crunch time for politicians. As the nation moves closer towards penalising elected representatives for changing sides, those who are wavering now would probably have to act fast.

One has already started the ball rolling. Plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin announced last week that she was leaving Bersatu.

The former Bersatu Supreme Council member is joining Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) but it is still unclear what role she will play in the new party.

This makes PBM the third political party Zuraida has served in since she began her career in politics. She was a vice-president and head of the women’s wing in PKR when she was shown the door in 2020 for siding with then deputy president Azmin Ali.

This came in the wake of the Sheraton Move that led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. Zuraida went on to join Bersatu with Azmin and retained her ministerial status under the Muhyiddin Yassin administration.

Her latest move comes as no surprise. Early this year, news of her possible involvement with PBM surfaced. There was even talk of her taking the helm in the political entity that began life as the Sarawak Workers Party.

On March 22, PBM general-secretary Nor Hizwan Ahmad clarified that Zuraida was not a member of the party.

However, he issued a statement on Thursday with a very different tone. He confirmed that the party had received Zuraida’s application for membership and heaped praises on her at the same time.

He said PBM was honoured to have in its ranks “an MP who is dedicated (to her cause) and credible, and who has an excellent track record as a leader who is close to the grassroots”.

Her announcement finally puts to rest the speculation about her political affiliation. To give her credit, she has been decisive, unlike some who are still wavering.

There is a lot of speculation that many of those who abandoned Umno for Bersatu or other parties before or soon after the historic 2018 polls are giving some thought to a possible return to their old hunting ground.

Umno is back in the game. It has survived its first election defeat in its 76-year history and ridden through the loss of many MPs through defections on a wave of increasing popularity.

But whether or not the re-invigorated party will roll out the red carpet for them and kiss their hands for good measure is left to be seen.

But politicians returning to their old parties is not a new practice in Malaysia. A former president of the Dewan Negara, Michael Chen, cut his teeth in the MCA before leaving the party to join Gerakan, only to return to the MCA years later.

Even two-time prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has done it. He left Umno for a short spell to show his disgust for his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership before returning after Abdullah stepped down as prime minister.

There will certainly be a lot more defections and crossovers. After all, the anti-hopping law may not even see the light of day.

In the meantime, Malaysia awaits while the PBM top guns decide how big a role Zuraida will play in the party.

But then again, who really cares? - FMT

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