MP SPEAKS | Charting the way forward
MP SPEAKS | The aftermath of the Sheraton Move – despite having occurred only recently in February – had left a devastating impact on the fabric of Malaysian politics and is still strongly felt despite our nation’s ongoing battle against Covid-19. Betrayal, treachery, power-grabbing, passing of positions and money just to name a few are now painting the landscape of Malaysian politics.
The first few months following Sheraton Move were tough on the people and it was equally difficult for myself. The day I decided to cross to the other side of the aisle that is not in favour of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, my parliamentarian allocation was frozen and pulled back.
I was also expelled by the party that I helped co-founded, my very first party in politics. The journey to be an honest politician in Malaysia is indeed challenging. I was heavily tempted with the opportunity of keeping my minister’s position and the perks that come with it.
It may not be the easiest route for myself and my constituency but if there’s one thing I have learnt during my stint as MP in Muar is that people value an honest politician, someone who is willing to stick to their principles and do their best by the people regardless of the challenges thrown at them.
Following the move, people’s mandate was taken away one state at a time and the looming threat of several accused politicians demanding charges against them to be dropped was also realised. People’s beliefs in politics are at an all-time low. This is truly sad because, in essence, the MPs are the...
MP SPEAKS | The aftermath of the Sheraton Move – despite having occurred only recently in February – had left a devastating impact on the fabric of Malaysian politics and is still strongly felt despite our nation’s ongoing battle against Covid-19. Betrayal, treachery, power-grabbing, passing of positions and money just to name a few are now painting the landscape of Malaysian politics.
The first few months following Sheraton Move were tough on the people and it was equally difficult for myself. The day I decided to cross to the other side of the aisle that is not in favour of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, my parliamentarian allocation was frozen and pulled back.
I was also expelled by the party that I helped co-founded, my very first party in politics. The journey to be an honest politician in Malaysia is indeed challenging. I was heavily tempted with the opportunity of keeping my minister’s position and the perks that come with it.
It may not be the easiest route for myself and my constituency but if there’s one thing I have learnt during my stint as MP in Muar is that people value an honest politician, someone who is willing to stick to their principles and do their best by the people regardless of the challenges thrown at them.
Following the move, people’s mandate was taken away one state at a time and the looming threat of several accused politicians demanding charges against them to be dropped was also realised. People’s beliefs in politics are at an all-time low. This is truly sad because, in essence, the MPs are the representatives of people in the highest law-making body in our country, the Parliament. But currently, that trust is no longer there.
The people should know that this crisis was foretold by the members of the previous government, myself included. We have predicted that the coalition of convenience created hastily in the name of PN, Muafakat Nasional plus Bersatu or whatever new names they are creating these days, won’t last long and would not be stable. True to that, the political deadlock we are in today acts as a living-proof.
Let us not forget that Covid-19 is currently registering triple digits daily due to the irresponsible power-grabbing move made in Sabah. Every single day we hear more news of people dying, more premises having to be shut down due to infection and medical personnel not having enough manpower and the resources to handle the influx of new cases.
And the most heartbreaking news for all Malaysians was the passing of a one-year-old child due to Covid.
This situation cannot continue. For our country to move forward, we need to chart an unprecedented way forward. It cannot be a plan involving further trading of MPs which has time and time again proven to be a short-lived measure.
We need to put a temporary bandage on the situation. At least to allow our beloved Malaysia to operate during this turbulent time. We need to move forward with an unprecedented plan. We need to put aside the politics of vengeance for the best of the people.
Although it has never happened in our democracy, a “confidence and supply” arrangement is a tried and tested method in the Westminster system to ensure demands are met.
In 1977, Jim Callaghan’s Labour Party created a pact with the Liberal Party for the government to keep functioning with a working majority that can pass bills. In return, the Labour party agreed to modest policy concessions with the Liberal Party.
The same principle was used by the Green Party in throwing support to Jacinda Ardern’s (photo) Labour Party and New Zealand First coalition. It resulted in giving the prime minister the ability to govern and not being bullied by unnecessary demands.
The core of a confidence and supply arrangement is to benefit the people. For such a policy to work out in Malaysia, a necessary trade-off that benefits the people has to be made. It would not be simple; it is not a call for us to simply accept this government or agree with the way that the current government is running things.
However, we are facing an unprecedented war on Covid-19 that is greatly affecting every layer of our society. We are losing out on investors; more people are losing jobs as politicians scuffle over positions.
My suggestion is simple; Malaysia needs to heal. We cannot have a government that can be threatened every single day by the kleptocrats and disgruntled politicians.
Here are a few things that we need to aggressively push for:
- No general election until Covid-19 case stabilises, which might potentially see a bipartisan partnership for one to two years. The opposition will still hold government accountable for their failings.
- Equal allocation to all MPs so that they could serve their constituency. This will remove the need for party hopping among the MPs while we wait for a more permanent solution to outlaw party hoping. This will also be a big bipartisan “legacy” win as MPs, whether in government or opposition, can be treated with dignity and service their constituents well.
- We need a bipartisan committee in passing important bills. This will ensure bills are properly vetted and demands are moderately catered to.
With political stability through bipartisanship, we can finally focus on fighting Covid-19 and embark on reforming Malaysia together. We need to swiftly implement a law against party-hopping and the much-awaited political funding law to countervail the influence of money politics.
A strong disclaimer is that the confidence and supply agreement in Malaysia will not result in the opposition party joining the government. The opposition is still a strong voice of accountability and this is not an indicator of a ceasefire. Instead, it looks at political stability in the short-term, while dealing with political disagreements via the ballot box.
The comparison is simply if we allow the status quo to continue we are creating a spasm of unstable economic condition in what is already a volatile Covid-19 era.
Foreign direct investments are being deterred from coming in due to this condition. We need to adopt a radical approach to prevent the status quo from hurting Malaysia.
The only hope our country has to face this Covid-19 is for us politicians to work together. We will never forget the treachery and betrayals of the people’s mandate.
And when the time is right, we will see that justice is done. But right now, we need to put aside our ego and carry out our work. We need to fight for the very reason why we have voted into the Parliament the first place – serve the people, Malaysia 1st!
SYED SADDIQ SYED ABDUL RAHMAN is the Muar MP, co-founder for Muda and former youth and sports minister.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
