It is the political joke of the year. Yesterday, I read two interesting and yet puzzling news reports that Bota assembly person Nasaruddin Hashim abandoned Barisan Nasional and crossed over to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). And if the latest reports are true, he may have hopped back to BN today.

Anyway, in the first report that appeared in a news portal, Umno Supreme Council member Dr Rais Yatim had asked the Perak Barisan Nasional to organise a mass movement to demand that Bota assembly person Nasaruddin give up the seat to enable a by-election as he had chosen to cross over to Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Whilst I am skeptical about the possibility of anyone organising mass movements in Malaysia to express their political beliefs and feelings in an open manner, Rais’ proposal nevertheless falls within the ambit of a democratic society.

I guess Rais is encouraging the public to express and vent their feelings in the open through the formation of mass movements. If that is what was intended by Rais, than it should be well-received by all and sundry.

His comments, I guess, are an expression of despair and anger over what Nasaruddin had done and it is understandable because losing an assembly person to another party is not a small matter.

In another newspaper, it was headlined ‘Perak intrigue – Ding-dong battle on the cards as BN hints at crossovers’.

The report claims that two PKR assembly persons would cross over to Barisan Nasional and it appears morally right for such crossovers to take place. In one breath, BN condemns crossovers as unethical and betrayal of the voters and in another, they warmly welcome such moves.

This is rather confusing to readers like me and moreover it is the political joke of the year. The BN appears not to abide by its very own principles.

If BN is against any of its elected representatives crossing over to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), then it should not welcome elected representatives from PR who want to crossover.

Whether it happens after such representatives resign and become independent first before hopping over to BN, the implications are the same.

The other lingering question in my mind is whether Rais would allow PR to form mass movements to force PKR assembly persons who cross over to BN, to quit and make way for fresh elections.

If what Rais said was in the true spirit of democracy, then he should also allow PR to form mass movements to protest against crossovers as well. Such privileges should not be limited to BN only.

In a democratic society, everyone should have equal rights. By the way, I strongly suggest that Rais seek the home minister’s view about his proposed mass movements bearing in mind the existence of the ISA.

If the BN government is against crossovers, it should without hesitation enact an anti-hop law as they have the majority in Parliament and if logic prevails, even the opposition should support it.

What is holding the Barisan Nasional back? Is BN hoping that PR members of parliament and assembly persons would crossover to BN and having such laws would not benefit them?

If the BN harbours such intentions and ambitions, then they should not cry foul when BN politicians cross over to PR. A fair and uniform rule should apply to all and sundry.