Lompat si Katak Lompat!

Let it not be said that the Malays are anything but proactive when it comes to doing what is best for the Malays, Islam and themselves! The italics are mine to emphasise the critical underlying element of everything and anything these politicians do - it must benefit themselves. And there is a method to their madness. The only thing that is best left unsaid is...how mad are they? If you really want to know....ask these three!

You must be gila to want to work with those who have tarred and feathered you over and over again, but, for these politicians, any port in a storm. And some of them are really in need of a port given the storm that their families, their in-laws and they themselves, are in.

Back in 2022, Lawmakers unanimously passed the anti-hopping Bill. Under the new law, a recall election or by-election will be triggered when an MP quits or jumps party. MPs elected as independents will also lose their seats if they formally join any party. This is more than two years after defections collapsed the PH federal government in 2020 and sparked a period of political instability and two changes in government.

Who are exempted? The law does not apply to: - MPs who are sacked from their parties; - En-bloc defections; - Post-election coalition agreements between parties.

These are the 'escape clause' that allows the politician to kautim against the spirit of the anti-hopping law.

And just to remind everyone...what is the spirit of the anti-hopping law?

TO PREVENT THE LAWMAKERS aka KATAKS, HOPPING AROUND FROM ONE PARTY TO ANOTHER.

And why would any MP want to hop around ....principles, loyalty to whatever, a genuine change in one political beliefs....or money. When push comes to shove...money wins hands down.

And if you can recall, this anti-party hopping law was a key condition of the confidence-and-supply agreement (CSA) signed between PH (then in opposition), and Ismail's BERA government that allowed for the government to pass key legislation with PH support. There was much chest-thumping by PH who insisted that this is one of the 'crucial reforms' that PH managed to extract from the Ismail Sabri's government that would stop party hopping by politicians and it would lead to a more rational and stable government in the future...which is good for the nation.

Now let us fast forward to today: Friday 10th November 2023. I saw the following news item:

Lompat tanpa perlu keluar parti

oleh WONG CHIN HUAT 09 November 2023 09:30am

Dari kiri: Iskandar Dzulkarnain, Suhaili, Mohd Azizi dan Zahari mengisytiharkan sokongan kepada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

DENGAN empat orang ahli Parlimen Bersatu – Kuala Kangsar, Labuan Gua Musang dan Jeli - berturut-turut menyatakan sokongan kepada PMX Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, seolah-olah wujud fenomena baharu: lompat parti tanpa keluar parti.

And then, this from the Dewan Rakyat Speaker : Anti-party-hopping law does not apply to the four Bersatu MPs supporting PMX.

This is confusing me. DSAI, through PH in 2022 virtually arm-twisted Ismail Sabri's government to pass the anti-hopping law which basically wanted to prevent MPs from party hopping - or switching support from one party to another. Now it is okay for these four MPs to switch their support from BERSATU to DSAI because he is PMX ?

I hope PMX will handle these defections in the spirit of the 'anti-hopping legislation - to prevent party hopping. Reject these kataks. Enough of these escape clauses, exceptions and interpretations of legislation to suit the vested interest of the very people doing the interpretation. Have the courage and political will to do what is right. Get back your moral compass. Enough said.