When MPs resign, voters pay the price: Should Malaysia restore the five-year ban?

 

AS a Petaling Jaya voter and retiree, I would like to share my views on Lee Chean Chung’s resignation as Member of Parliament.

I understand his reasons for leaving, and I respect his willingness to walk away from a position of power. However, his resignation also leaves thousands of constituents without a voice in the Dewan Rakyat.

Voters elected Lee in 2022 to represent their interests in Parliament. With the upcoming Budget 2027 debates, we need a lawmaker who understands our concerns and can raise them when policies and public spending are discussed.

Petaling Jaya is home to people from vastly different economic backgrounds, from families living in comfortable bungalows to those struggling to make ends meet in Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) flats.

Our concerns range from the cost of living and public services to local planning and municipal issues. We need an MP who understands these realities and can bring them to Parliament.

To be fair, Lee has raised concerns about the government’s direction and spoken up on issues such as building by-laws involving houses of worship in Selangor and equity ownership in private education.

These are among the issues that matter to PJ voters, including local matters that often receive insufficient media attention.

The Election Commission has confirmed that no by-election will be held for the Petaling Jaya parliamentary seat. Until the next general election, the constituency will remain without an elected representative in the Dewan Rakyat.

Electoral watchdog Bersih has also raised concerns about constituents being left without representation following MPs’ resignations.

Whatever the reasons behind an MP’s departure, the consequences are borne by the voters who entrusted that person with a mandate.

Lee is not the only MP to have resigned during the current parliamentary term. Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Wong Chen have also vacated their seats.

Each may have his own reasons, but taken together, these departures leave more constituencies without elected voices in Parliament.

Rafizi, in particular, has spoken extensively about accountability and reform. His decision to leave Parliament therefore raises a difficult question: if reforms are being neglected, should lawmakers not remain in the legislature to challenge the government and demand answers?

Building a new party may offer its leaders a fresh political start. For the constituents left behind, however, the immediate benefit is less clear.

MPs can question ministers, scrutinise proposed laws and demand explanations on the public record. These opportunities matter even when relations with party leaders have broken down.

Former minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has also raised a pertinent point: disagreements with a political party and an MP’s responsibility to constituents are separate matters.

I believe this distinction deserves serious consideration. Lee’s suspension from PKR did not, in itself, remove his responsibility to the people who elected him.

Perhaps it is time to reconsider the former constitutional provision that disqualified MPs who resigned from Parliament from contesting another parliamentary election for five years.

The restriction was removed when constitutional amendments introducing the anti-party-hopping framework were passed in 2022.

Reinstating such a restriction would be a serious measure and should not be done without careful consideration. MPs may have compelling reasons to resign, and any proposed rule would need to account for exceptional circumstances.

Nevertheless, there should be meaningful consequences when an elected representative chooses to leave office mid-term without returning the mandate to voters.

I do not expect an MP to agree with his party on everything. In fact, I would rather have a representative who is willing to speak up when something is wrong.

But I also expect those who seek our votes to consider the consequences of their decisions for the people they were elected to serve.

Lee may regard his resignation as a matter of principle. As a Petaling Jaya voter, I wish he had stayed in Parliament and fought for those principles from the seat we entrusted to him. 

Katherine Kong
Petaling Jaya

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT

 Focus Malaysia.