VOTERS in Gombak and Ampang in Selangor, who supported Mohamed Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin in the last general election, are disappointed and angry with their defections, which led to the fall of the 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan government.

They told The Malaysian Insight they feel betrayed by the two veteran parliamentarians.

They said the government must enact anti-party hopping laws to stop such defections and to protect the mandate given by the people in elections.

Gombak MP Azmin and Ampang’s Zuraida defected to Bersatu along with nine other PKR lawmakers to allow Muhyiddin Yassin to become the next prime minister.

Bersatu left the PH coalition and joined forces with Umno and PAS to form the new Perikatan Nasional federal government.

“I voted for Zuraida hoping that all corruption would be ended but now, she jumped ship and is working with those corrupt politicians.

“I cast my vote after waiting for almost five hours. I feel all my efforts are now wasted because this person has jumped party,” said former civil servant Hamdan Wahid, 65.

Hamdan said he feels dejected about Zuraida’s betrayal.

A law should be enacted to prevent MPs from jumping parties, he said, adding that even if a MP is allowed to switch parties, the seat should remain with the party.

“There is no need to spend money on another election. If a MP switches party, then only the person leaves. The seat should be awarded to another person from the party that won the seat.

“We voted for the party, not the individual,” said Hamdan.

Another Ampang voter, who only wanted to be known as Raymond, said politicians care more about their own agenda rather than about the public or nation.

The political crisis last week showed how selfish politicians can be and how they can abuse the people’s trust, he said.

“Last week, we saw the politicians’ true colours. They are only concerned about their life and want to secure themselves.

“It doesn’t matter if it means working with your enemy. At the end of the day, the citizens are fooled,” said Raymond, an electrical technician.

Fadzil Farid also shared the same sentiment, saying what was done by Zuraida was unacceptable.

Instead of being part of a team that formed a back-door government, he said, Zuraida should have stepped down with dignity.

“Not a fair thing to do. It is a betrayal. Step down and let the people choose their preferred member of Parliament. That is the right thing,” he said.

Despite that, Fadzil believes that with the new government, the nation has better prospects of economic growth, and that Bumiputeras will have better opportunities.

“Last couple of years, there were no major improvements in the economy. They (PH) promised the moon and stars in their manifesto but nothing of that sort was done or accomplished.

“However, with this new government, I feel there is a sense of hope. The Bumis will also get a chance to shine. I’m hoping that the new prime minister has some good ideas to revive the economy,” said Fadzil, who is an executive officer.

The sentiment against Azmin was the same in Gombak, where he had been the MP since 2008.

Sheila Munusamy, who runs a sundry shop, said she is not pleased with her MP’s decision to work with Umno and PAS.

She said she voted for the former economic affairs minister in the last general election because she was tired of Barisan Nasional and wanted a change.

However, the news of Azmin joining hands with Umno and PAS upset her.

“Betrayal. Absolute betrayal of the people’s trust. He promised a lot of things under the previous banner he was contesting for.

“Now, he conveniently jumped party for his own benefit. So, what else do we call this, besides betrayal,” the 42-year-old said.

Sheila also said the new government will try to do everything within its power to impress the public so that it can win the next elections.

“I think they will work just to show the public that they are a capable government. It is also to impress the people so that they get the votes in the next election,” she said.

Another Gombak voter, Jackie Yee, a food stall operator, said he is angry with what Azmin has done and said he deserves being called a traitor.

Jackie said Gombak voters will need to show that they can be “traitors”, too, in the next elections and vote against Azmin.

“I’m so angry with him because he has his own political motive. What he had done was betrayal and he deserves to be called a traitor.

“In the next elections, we will show that we can be traitors, too. We will show our loyalty to others who contest against Azmin,” said the 52-year-old.

As for Mohd Faiz Nor, a financial consultant and a voter in the Gombak constituency, he said politics is all about being dirty and looking to benefit one’s own agenda.

He said although it is normal for politicians to switch parties, working with those who were booted from the government by the people does not give a good picture.

“Politics is dirty and anything can happen. Politicians have their own agenda, let they be who they are.

“What Azmin did was betraying the trust of voters, not by joining Bersatu but by working with Umno and PAS, which Malaysians did not want in the government.

“He conveniently brought them in through the back door and formed the government. Not a mature move,” he said, adding that he, too, wants an anti-hopping law to be enacted.

However, as a financial consultant, Faiz said he expects the new leadership to focus on the nation’s economy rather than focusing on race and religious issues.

“One way for them (new government) to win the trust and confidence of the public is to restore the nation’s economy, and not dwell on race and religion issues.

“When the nation is performing well economically, people will tend to move on from these issues and have confidence in the leadership.” – March 6, 2020.