THE public no longer holds the Dewan Rakyat in the same esteem and respect as they did in the past, as it now feels that it is ridden with political corruption, said Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

“There is a feeling among the public that the Dewan Rakyat is influenced and manipulated by political corruption, and is a means to enrich a few at the expense of the people,” he said while debating the Royal Address.

He said it is not easy to define political corruption as it takes on many forms, and the evidence is sometimes seen and, at other times, unseen.

“We must, therefore, find means to destroy these ‘worms’ that have infested the Dewan Rakyat, and it is not an easy task,” he said.

The veteran lawmaker said this begins with getting politics right.

“Only then will we get our policies right, whatever they may be – whether it is policies in economics or health or education,” he said.

He added that it is politics that will eventually determine policies and implementation.

The veteran politician said if politics is caught in the web of corruption, then all the fine statements made in the Dewan Rakyat will ultimately be useless to the people.

Therefore, he said, getting national and party politics right is fundamental for the survival of the country.

Tengku Razaleigh said the people’s problems cannot be solved if the politics that is in the Dewan Rakyat and in parties are wrong.

This he said will leave the people without an institution on which they can rely on not only to express their suffering, desperation and uncertainty, but also to find a solution.

“Organised in a hierarchy of financial rewards and favours, political corruption became a political right in exchange for support of party positions,” he said.

Tengku Razaleigh said leaders of political parties, the judiciary, cabinet and Members of Parliament must remember that they are duty bound to the nation and its people, adding that not upholding the law and the constitution is a betrayal.

“It is the abuse of politics and power that has created the present state of the Dewan Rakyat and the suffering of the rakyat. We need to change the direction of politics to save our people and the nation,” he said.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has agreed to enact the anti-party hopping law as part of a series of transformations and reforms.

Malaysia has seen three changes of prime ministers since the 14th General Elections on May 9, 2018. – September 21, 2021.