It’s natural for anyone who believes in democracy and the resultant right of the people to choose their representatives to feel some alarm at the current situation in Malaysia. The people ‘spoke’ on Mar 8 so why should Anwar Ibrahim attempt to bring about a change in the government before the next general election? Shouldn’t he wait until the current government’s mandate runs out?

That’s the gist of many opinions on blogs and in the media. The public debate has intensified after the Permatang Pauh by-election when it became clearer that the Sep 16 deadline to form a new government wasn’t just one man’s wishful dream.

This dilemma is not only felt by members of the public. While we can’t read the minds of our elected representatives with any certainty, it would be fair to say that this issue is causing greater havoc in their lives.

The thought of jumping ship would have crossed the minds of many BN reps after the tsunami of Mar 8. Over at Pakatan Rakyat’s side, many strong advocates of democratic action would have carried out intense soul searching in their quest to decide exactly what position to take on this defection issue.

The intense debate, both public and inside each person’s mind, is healthy and necessary. However, I believe it should lead to only one conclusion, which is to encourage a change of government through this drastic means.

Here are my reasons why this scenario is the best way forward for Malaysia and would really reflect the will of the people.

First, any BN member of parliament who won with a less than ten percent winning majority has the moral authority to switch sides. Unfair media rules, lopsided election laws and the use of government resources should at least conservatively give BN a ten percent advantage over the opposition.

And that’s not even taking the rumoured phantom voters into account. If elections were run truly fairly in Malaysia, these reps would have lost. They should have no qualms over switching sides as a real majority of their constituents would have voted Pakatan anyway. This should easily bring in the required 30 or so parliament members that are required to bring down the present government.

As for the rest, they should find ways to poll their constituents. I suspect that a lot of them will find that the people they are representing would welcome their intention to switch over to the other side.

Very few areas were won with huge majorities by BN and only in those areas should their representatives stay put. The Permatang Pauh by-election results offer solid proof that if anything, the support among the people for Pakatan has strengthened.

The next election will not be decisive anyway if it is held in four years time or so. One can expect the next general election to be even dirtier given that so much is at stake for those in power.

With allegations of murder, massive corruption, land grabbing and what not hanging over their heads, only naïve people would still expect the next elections to be truly democratic.

One would have laughed two years ago if comparisons were made with Burma and Zimbabwe but not anymore. There’s a very real danger that whatever democratic space left in this country could disappear if prompt action is not taken.

Beyond politics, it is obvious that the affairs of our country are in a mess. When respectable foreign organisations downgrade our country and even advise corporations to avoid Malaysia, it is time to take difficult decisions. The world is already heading into a recession. Our country will be doubly hit if it persists on its current course and in four years time, it might be too late to salvage anything.

The time is now. Seize it or it might be lost for a long time. Even those that have legitimate reason to fear a change in government should not worry. There’s every chance that the new government will focus on rebuilding the nation rather than embarking on massive witch hunts.