FREEDOM to vote or abstain according to conscience will be the advantage for voters if they choose an Independent MP, people behind the Gerak Independent (GI) movement, which aims to contest several parliamentary seats in the 15th general election, said.

GI candidates will not be bound by party instructions or by any political leader and are free to decide how they should vote in Parliament, said one of its leaders and prominent lawyer-activist Siti Kasim, who will contest in Batu in the next election.

Siti shot back at GI’s detractors, noting how opposition MPs were powerless and ultimately at the whim of their leader.

“These people tend to forget. Remember how Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers allowed the backdoor government to pass their budget when they had the ability to stop it?

“They were merely following orders from their leader. The function or the system of political parties in Malaysia doesn’t work.

“When your leader says vote, you vote. When he says don’t, you don’t. How can you say party-based MPs are functioning?

“Whereas, if we are elected, no one can dictate to us. We have our freedom and we will make sure every decision is for the sake of the people,” said Siti, in reference to the general confusion in the opposition ranks during passing of Budget 2021.

At the last minute, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim instructed the PH coalition MPs against division voting at the second reading (policy stage).

Prior to this, PH had planned to go for division voting – where votes are counted individually, hoping reveal the number of MPs who supported the government.

A division vote requires at least 15 MPs to stand and make the request, but in the Budget 2021 debate, only 13 opposition MPs, including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, did so.

So, the budget was passed at policy stage instead by voice vote.

The same thing happened again last year, when voting for Budget 2022, despite opposition MPs calling for a division vote to make their objections known.

GI’s ‘strategy’ to challenge opposition

Siti also responded to other criticisms of GI, which included their lack of infrastructure and grassroots support, coupled with doubts about strategy.

GI candidates, including Siti, intend to stand against PH MPs, which would end up splitting votes and benefiting the ruling coalition.

Siti said GI was being strategic by staying away from Barisan Nasional (BN) or Perikatan Nasional (PN).

“Some fail to see what we see. If you know you are going to lose in a war, why bother joining the war in the first place?

“Do you think we can get voters in BN or PN strongholds to understand what we are trying to do?”

She said the decision to contest in seats held by PH was not meant to portray that the current MPs are incompetent, but to effect change, which “can only come in Parliament”.

“We are being strategic. The places we want to contest, this section of society understands where we are coming from. They know who we are, our activism and what we plan to do.”

Siti is well-known for her activism and work as a lawyer fighting for the Orang Asli and constitutional confrontations with the Islamic authorities.

Other GI candidates come from law, journalism, activism and corporate backgrounds.

Last week, GI announced its six candidates and where they intend to contest. The backgrounds of the candidates and their respective positions on key policies can be found on GI’s website.

Besides Siti in Batu, the others are former journalist and lawyer Charles C.J. Chow (Subang), activist and former senior civil servant K.J. John (Petaling Jaya), Wangsa Maju resident Raveentheran Suntheralingam (Wangsa Maju) and Sabah-based lawyer Roland Cheng (Kota Kinabalu).

Chow subsequently withdrew his candidacy and from GI yesterday, citing differences in opinions on how the group should achieve its objectives.

Meanwhile, Tawfik Ismail, a former Sungai Benut MP with Umno and son of deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, will also be a candidate but has not disclosed where he will stand.

Siti said standing against PH incumbents did not mean the current MPs are not good enough.

“It is not about good or bad. It is about how you cannot go against your party whip even when you know something has to be done.

“People in the six urban seats should be able to understand our intentions. We cannot win in BN or PN seats, we have to be realistic.

“The opposition can always give us the space if they want to avoid clashing with each other,” she added.

At least we tried

Siti added that the GI candidates were receiving help from volunteers with their grassroots campaign, adding that someone had contacted her after she announced her intention to contest in Batu.

“There is support already and we are starting to get volunteers because if you are passionate about your country, people will volunteer.”

“At least we tried. We are planting seeds, it is better to try than do nothing. Maybe one day people will realise, that what we did now was the right thing to do.”

Siti challenged the argument that GI should remain a civil society group. At GI’s press conference last week, Siti said civil society groups had little power to effect change despite all their good work.

“Despite making a lot of presentations to the government, meeting with ministers, being involved in roundtable discussions, and all that, nothing has changed. Why?” she asked.

“Only Parliament can change the policies and the laws that are being implemented in Malaysia,” she said. – February 22, 2022.