VOTERS are hopping mad that the politicians they voted for in the 2018 general election are jumping like frogs to change the balance of power and state governments since the “Sheraton Move” about two months ago.

In February, Muhyiddin Yassin pulled his party, Bersatu, out of the Pakatan Harapan federal government, bringing it down to form another one with his erstwhile political foes, Umno and PAS, and becoming prime minister in the process.

These shenanigans owe their existence to a quirk in the law that allows politicians to switch parties at any time, despite promises and pledges to the electorate.

Such matters first came under the spotlight in 1992, when then supreme court justice Eusoff Chin ruled that Kelantan’s anti-hopping law was inconsistent with Article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution concerning freedom of association.

Since then, 11 MPs and 11 assemblymen have either resigned or defected to bring down one federal government and five state governments, with Perak having suffered it twice, in 2009 and this year.

Kelantan’s 1990 anti-hopping law required elected representatives to vacate their seats if they resigned or were expelled from their parties to curb assemblymen from causing disruptions to the make-up of the day’s state governments.

In the case ruled on by Eusoff, Nordin Salleh (Sg Pinang) and Wan Mohamed Najib Wan Mohamad (Limbongan) won their seats under Semangat 46 in the 1990 elections, but defected to Umno the following year.

Although their defections did not cause a change in the state government, Kelantan then amended its laws to include an anti-hopping clause, which retroactively went into effect on November 18, 1990. 

The then speaker declared the seats vacant, and both men contested their seats again, but lost. They later sought legal remedy from the courts, which led to Eusoff’s landmark ruling.

Below is a list of defections, resignations or changes in political support that have caused the fall of governments in Malaysia:

Perak (2009)

The silver state became the first state government to fall after just one year in power when three assemblymen quit their parties.

The collapse began when Barisan Nasional’s Nasarudin Hashim (Bota) announced he was joining PKR in February. At the time, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state administration was led by PAS’ Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin.

But before PKR could celebrate, Nasarudin crossed back to BN, and before PR could react, three other reps resigned from their parties to back BN as the state government.

The trio were deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) from DAP, and PKR’s exco Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Osman Jailu (Changkat Jering).

Their move enabled BN to retake the state with 28 assemblymen and three independent supporters, compared with PR’s 28. Prior to the resignations, PR ruled the state with 32 reps to BN’s 27 in the 59-seat assembly.

All three have since faded from local politics.

Pakatan Harapan (2020)

Shortly after Muhyiddin pulled Bersatu out of PH on February 24, former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and 10 other MPs announced that they were leaving their party.

Other than Baru Bian (Selangau), Azmin’s group went on to back Muhyiddin as prime minister, with some now serving in his cabinet. 

Baru pulled out of the group and is now an independent MP.

The other nine are Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang), Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota), Kamaruddin Jaafar (Bandar Tun Razak), Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Rashid Hasnoon (Batu Pahat), Santhara Kumar (Segamat), Ali Biju (Saratok), Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo) and Jonathan Yasin (Ranau).

Before resigning from PKR, Azmin, who is now a senior minister (international trade and industry), was credited with organising a lawmakers’ get-together for Bersatu, BN and PAS at Sheraton Hotel on February 23, an event widely reported as the Sheraton Move.

Muhyiddin’s allies, meanwhile, said they pulled Bersatu out of PH as PKR and DAP were pressuring Dr Mahathir Mohamad to resign as prime minister. They also alleged that DAP was working against Malay interests.

Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir, however, was against Muhyiddin’s move. He is now looking to challenge the prime minister with a no-confidence motion in the Dewan Rakyat on May 18.

Azmin’s group have yet to explain why they quit PKR.

Johor (2020)

On February 27, as some of PH’s Johor assemblymen were meeting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur, the Johor palace called a meeting to determine who had the majority in the state following PH’s collapse at the federal level.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had said the new coalition of BN, PAS and Bersatu had 28 representatives to PH’s 26 in the 56-seat state assembly. One of the two assemblymen who did not attend the meeting was PH’s Salahuddin Ayub (Simpang Jeram), who was at Istana Negara.

It was later confirmed that PKR rep Dr Chong Fat Full (Pemanis) had quit the party to support the new Perikatan Nasional administration in Johor. He made history when he was appointed an exco in the new PN state government.

Malacca (2020)

The pace continued as Malacca became the second PH state to fall after Johor.

On March 2, DAP assemblyman Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu) and PKR’s Muhammad Jailani Khamis (Rembia) announced their support for the PN government in Malacca.

Their two votes, together with Bersatu duo Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen (Paya Rumput) and Noor Effandy Ahmad (Telok Mas), were enough to give PN 17 in the 28-member state assembly.

The DAP and PKR reps were subsequently sacked from their parties.

Exco Rafiq, however, found himself on the losing end when he was omitted from the state line-up.

Three days after forming the new state government, Malacca Umno said it had cut ties with Bersatu in the state on March 5, but still had 15 votes in the assembly.

Perak (2020)

On March 10, Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu tendered his resignation after the state’s Bersatu chapter left PH.

His decision was prompted by DAP assemblymen Paul Yong (Tronoh) and A. Sivasubramaniam (Buntong), and Amanah’s Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim’s decision to support PN at the state level.

The trio did not quit their parties, but were later sacked after the fall of the PH government in Perak.

Yong, a former exco, is also facing trial over a charge he raped his 23-year-old Indonesian maid at his home in Meru Desa Park between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7 last year.

In Perak, PN now commands 32 of the state assembly’s 56 seats.

Kedah (2020)

Despite trying his best to keep Kedah as the last state with a working Bersatu-PH relationship, Mukhriz Mahathir’s two-year administration came to an end after PKR assemblymen Azman Nasrudin (Lunas) and Dr Robert Ling Kui Ee (Sidam) quit their party.

At a press conference yesterday, the duo said they are inclined to support a new state government under Umno and PAS.

There are 36 state seats in Kedah, with PKR holding five, Bersatu (6), Amanah (4) and DAP (2). PAS and Umno have 15 and two seats, respectively. The two defections give PN the majority to form the next state government. – May 13, 2020.