IN March 1978, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang moved a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament for an anti-party hopping law. Unfortunately, his attempt to pass legislation to restrict party-hopping was unsuccessful. 

Lim foresaw a political future that was dominated by greed and abuse of the voter mandate.

Four decades later in 2020, his dystopian vision came to pass.

The country was ravaged by political turmoil. Mass defections of almost 40 MPs caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. 

Malaysia was sent into a tailspin as the country changed leadership three times in the span of two years. Politics dominated the headlines even as the average Malaysian grappled with inflation, rising food prices, and a global pandemic.

While the Sheraton Move may have lifted the veil on party-hopping, in reality, it has been a historically problematic issue in Malaysian politics. 

The first instance of party-hopping can be traced back to the 1959 general election. PAS, then known as the Pan Malayan Islamic Party, formed the Terengganu government after winning 13 seats in the state election. Barisan Nasional (BN), then known as the Alliance, only won seven.

Two years later, however, a motion of no confidence brought down the ruling state government when five elected representatives decided to jump ship and join the Alliance. 

Even though DAP consistently championed an anti-party hopping law, it was impossible to ignore the fact that party-hopping is protected under the constitution. 

Amidst confusion over how to write legislation that would prevent abuse of voter trust and at the same time protect an elected representative’s right to freely associate, the anti-party hopping law was regrettably placed on the backburner.

In 2008, the late Karpal Singh reiterated the DAP’s stance on party-hopping even in instances when it could have been beneficial to the party.

“We don’t welcome any renegades to defect to DAP. The trust of the voters is sacred. There must be honour among the representatives who won under the Barisan (BN) ticket,” he said.

He believed party-hopping should be outlawed as it was synonymous to cheating the voters.

DAP finally got the chance to secure bipartisan support for anti-hopping legislation through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between PH and the federal government. 

PH’s credibility took a hit, with many criticising the coalition for cooperating with the Umno-led federal government. 

DAP’s Tony Pua and Dr Ong Kian Ming felt the backlash firsthand. The duo floated the idea of leveraging PH’s parliamentary support in exchange for crucial reforms, including the anti-party hopping law, and was immediately lambasted all over social media by hardcore supporters.

However, we have to be grateful for elected representatives like Pua and Dr Ong, who willingly put their reputations on the line for the greater good.

The MOU has already seen major gains for the public, including lowering the voting age, automatic voter registration, equal funding to opposition constituencies, strengthening parliamentary select committees, and interest payment exemptions for B50 loan borrowers in 2021.

As for the anti-party hopping law, it seems that PH is getting closer to finishing what Lim had started 44 years ago. The anti-party hopping law will be tabled and debated this week and is expected to be passed sometime before September. – July 26, 2022.

* Jai Naeer reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.