This has to happen, better sooner than later. The case of the four Sabah MPs who purportedly resigned from Bersatu has put the anti-hopping law on the spot.
One thing we knew all along with the new anti-hopping law is that it is not foolproof. The existence of loopholes is glaring in this case. This means a well-prepared lawyer facing an indecisive, inconsistent judge on the bench will surely win the day.
I must say this. Our legislators enact laws, that’s part of their job scope anyway, but they are also most adept at getting around the laws they passed when their personal interests are at stake.
Over the past few days, I have been reading the many reports and comments regarding the case of the four Sabah MPs - Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Matbali Musah (Sipitang), and Jonathan Yasin (Ranau).
Armizan (above) is also the newly appointed minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs while Khairul Firdaus is tourism, arts and culture deputy minister. Would they be so careless with their status so as to risk it all “for the sake of the rakyat”, as Armizan had declared?
Watered down law
This Sabah case interests me greatly as I consider the anti-hopping law a very important piece of legislation. Our nation is in turmoil because our self-serving elected representatives can betray their parties and become frogs at their whims and fancies.
The passage of the Anti-Hopping Bill on Oct 5 aims to put a stop to political treachery in the form of switching alliances. I want the new law to work smoothly and be effective in curbing political frogging.
I penned an op-ed in a Sarawak daily on this issue a few days ago and quoted former law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on his statements.
Since then, I have exchanged notes with the former minister and, with his permission, let me share our views with Malaysiakini readers.
On Dec 14, I wrote to Wan Junaidi: “Good morning, brother. I agree with your first statement, perhaps not your about-turn. But you are the expert. I want you to be right. It would be terrible if by-elections are forced because of the carelessness of MPs”.
For the record, Wan Junaidi had stated on Dec 11 that the four MPs who left Bersatu had no choice but to vacate their seats once their exit from the party was formalised.
However, on Dec 12, he made an about-turn on the matter, stating in a joint statement with constitutional lawyer Tengku Fuad Ahmad that he agreed that the four MPs could keep their seats.
Wan Junaidi said he had been informed that the four had resigned from Bersatu in early October before contesting the general election on a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ticket.
In his message to me, the former minister explained: “I was persuaded by the facts presented before me that they have resigned before the elections. The second statement was to remedy the first one. Actually, the first statement was on the law itself. Both are not wrong. But the ‘facts’ seemed to be shifting.”
Wan Junaidi continued: “The original draft that was prepared, refined, and discussed at length between Sept 2021 to April 2022 covers the situation now.
“But it was strongly opposed by some members of the cabinet. This resulted in the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) drafting the amendment of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution to enable the enactment of the parliamentary Act for anti-hopping.
“However, the select committee appointed by Parliament on April 11, 2022 rejected the concept of amending Article 10 and adopted the original draft, but watered it down by deleting the expulsion.
“The original was adopted in September 2021 based on our study of the laws in the UK, India, and Singapore. Then my office, the Legal Division of the PM’s Department, and AGC came up with the draft.
“Unfortunately, due to strong opposition from within the cabinet, I had to be pragmatic to adjust my position or I could not produce a much-needed law against the defection of elected representatives which had hounded our country since 2018,” Wan Junaidi concluded.
Careless and irresponsible
I hope readers find the former minister’s take useful in some ways. This is also why I wanted to share our views here.
However, I still feel that the four Sabah MPs owe us an explanation of the risk they have taken in resigning from Bersatu, knowing full well that such an action might breach the anti-hopping law.
So far, Armizan is the only one who had attempted to tell his side of the story. The other three have not. I think they should.
Sabah Bersatu virtually collapsed on Dec 10 after Chief Minister Hajiji Noor announced that its members had quit, with a plan to form another party. They include the four parliamentarians and 15 state assemblypersons.
In an immediate face-saving reaction, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said Sabah Bersatu continues to exist and function despite its former chairperson Hajiji and his followers having announced quitting the party.
He also announced the appointment of Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee as the new Sabah Bersatu chief.
To me, it is irrelevant whether Bersatu is dead or alive in Sabah. What I want to know is whether the four Sabah MPs knowingly chose to take the risk of breaching the anti-hopping law and having their seats declared vacant and forcing by-elections in the process.
If so, expect the electorate to frown upon their act of carelessness and irresponsibility. - Mkini
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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