ALHAMDULILLAH, the anti-party hopping bill was passed with a resounding “yes” on the eve of Muharram 1444. Congratulations to all the MPs and the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2022 will be tabled in Dewan Negara for Senate’s approval.

Yes, it is a historic milestone for political stability.

Why not? Since the 2018 general election, 39 or 18% of MPs switched political loyalties. The Sheraton Move precipitated a period of political instability after Pakatan Harapan (PH) lost Putrajaya.

The anti-party hopping bill was a key condition of the confidence-and-supply agreement (CSA) between PH and Perikatan Nasional (PN), where the opposition would support key legislation and in return, the new government would push for several crucial reforms, including the bill.

It had been in the works since September 2021 and the bill may not be perfect but it is a first step in the right direction.

One down, next is the Political Funding Act (PFA).

Three weeks ago, I wrote an article What is holding up the PFA?. Transparency International-Malaysia sent a memorandum on political financing reforms to Najib in May 2011 and the special cabinet committee on anti-corruption agreed to it in principle. The then Barisan Nasional (BN) government endorsed and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) also showed confidence in the bill.

However, the home minister has called for more discussions on it because he doesn’t want flip-flops.

If the anti-party hopping bill, which may not be perfect, but can become a reality in less than a year, why is the PFA taking so long to be passed? Who is holding it up and why?

We have a cause for concern since our ranking dropped to number 62 in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021. It does not help that the MACC chief commissioner downplayed the country’s ranking.

I think the opposition leader should now start pushing the button for the PFA.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said the bill should not only be seen from a legal standpoint only but also the moral aspect.

By the way, our actions are guided by moral values but monetary incentives may get in the way. Researchers found that people have moral preference for supporting good causes. But, depending on the strength of the monetary incentive, people will at one point switch to selfish behaviour.

Which is necessary for survival – moral or money? In politics, it is the latter. One can survive without wealth, but without morals, one may be likened to animals. I have seen on Tik Tok, even animals show compassion.

Wealth may be at odds with empathy, compassion and leads to moral entitlement.

In the Malaysian context, a party with limited funds tries to be kingmaker. Without financial strength, it uses religion to influence succession and its endorsement doesn’t equate to a sure path to victory and political stability either.

A op-ed in the New York Times titled “Enron’s collapse was a product of the culture of greed, dishonesty, ethical blindness and wishful thinking”, says it all.

Some say moral truth is supposedly subjective but objective morality says that morality exists in nature. Some think of objective morality as God’s commandments while others think the universe has some objective rules we need to follow.

I do believe that our MPs, despite all the evils in this world, have moral compass and want to make the right choices that guide decision-making. It is not a question of right or wrong. It is to act on what must be done for the greater good of the rakyat and not to benefit the lawmakers themselves.

Moral compass is to guide, if not, it becomes too easy to stretch the truth and make justifications whenever it benefits us, or do things without thinking of the consequences.

“Every soul will be held responsible for what it had done” (Quran 74:38), is the essence of morality and ethics in Islam.

Anwar Ibrahim, the ball is in your court to push for more reforms and the people are looking at what you have managed to achieve.

What say you… – July 31, 2022.

* Saleh Mohammed 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.