PRM is against MP hopping

PRM is against MP hopping

Since March 8 the 12 General Election, news of MPs hopping from one party to another has been rife and turns out to be a hot topic of debates and gossips.

Should we or should we not allow actions which are strongly criticized by the oppositions and NGOs to bring about political power changes in our society through the hopping of MPs from one party to another or rather from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat?

Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) or the People’s Party of Malaysia has welcomed the partial change that the people made on the March 8, 2008 general election although PRM is of the view that changes cherished by the people is long overdue, and Barisan Nasional(BN) has been overstaying its tenure of office.

In view of the prevailing situation, PRM has already urged all parties to accept the verdict made by the people even though it is undisputable that BN has in the past 12 general elections been very unfair and manipulated general elections and resources to its utmost advantage.

But under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, we have seen that the PM did and does accept the choice of the people made in the general elections.

Kelantan has been able to be governed by PAS smoothly even with a slim majority after the 11^th general election in 2004, and again the transition of 5 states to new state governments peacefully in the 12^th general election.

Such acceptance of the people’s verdict most likely would not be observed by his predecessors. Our Malaysian post 1957 history tells it.

For instance, the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) state government was toppled in the 1990s by BN under the Mahathir regime when the PBS state assemblymen were enticed to hop from PBS to BN. Now the very same individuals are encouraged to hop again from BN to PR.

The 12 general election has shown that propaganda tricks employed by the BN had lost their effectiveness because the social economic set up of Malaysia has undergone much changes after 50 years of independence, especially the gap of the rich and the poor has widened and become irreconcilable. Such changes couple with the advent of internet, all news flows freely and fast, BN can no longer able to control and monopolize information. The people are aware and cannot be easily fooled as in the past.

Under the circumstances, PRM is against any efforts taken by the elected legislators to seek political power through the encouragement of MP hopping. All parties should uphold the transparent and democratic principles and spirits in the process of attaining power and control. If such principles and spirits are not observed and practised, it will not fair well for our future.

When the ISA was introduced in the 1960s, it was strongly opposed by PRM and the other leftist parties. It was pointed out by the lefts that the sole aim of the ISA is against the political rivals of the then Alliance government.

Unfortunately, because the ISA was meant to suppress the influence of the left , the other parties like the PAS and DAP supported the ISA with naive wishes that the ISA would be confined only to fighting the lefts and the communists.

But when PRM and the other lefts had been suppressed and wiped out , the same ISA has been turned against PAS and DAP. PAS and DAP stand out to oppose the ISA. They now are paying the price for supporting the ISA.

Thus, the news on MPs’ hopping has now covered up the other more important issues which have to be addressed and solved more urgently than the power play, it will defeat the aspiration of the people to institute for a just and democratic change. It is morally unacceptable to resort to calling MPs to hop in order to attain power especially when there is still room for a peaceful transition and transfer of political power in our society .

Yours trulys

Koh Swee Yong

Vice President of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)