KUALA LUMPUR: Voters should be given the power to "hire and fire" their wakil rakyat, including Members of Parliament who hop between political parties.
Bersih 2.0 resource person, Wong Chui Huat, feels this is the only solution to the growing problem, as it is difficult to implement an anti-hopping law, which requires constitutional reforms, including changes to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
"It is not a matter of constitutional reforms. It is a democratic conflict against the law.
"We shouldn't forget that we need to preserve the mandate of voters by allowing them to decide whether party hopping is acceptable or not," he said, adding that for anti-hopping laws to be effective, a party should be allowed to sack an MP as soon as he or she defects.
"Anti-hopping laws won't work because we have a coalition system where the voter would be voting for a trinity and not the person or the party."
Speaking during the Zoom Bersih 2.0 Sabah forum 'Protecting Voters' Mandate: Anti-hopping law or Recall Election' session last night, Wong said the Election Commission (EC) should hold an election not to hire, but fire.
"This means that party hoping is allowed for members with the approval of voters, instead of for their own interests".
Another panellist, Sabah Umno leader Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said a recall election is something interesting to be considered, but which must have a time frame.
"For instance, if your party isn't performing as it had promised after a year, then maybe leaving the party can be considered. Recall election is a good idea, provided the threshold for petitions is set very high, maybe 51 per cent of registered voters should support the hop," he added.
In Sabah, Rahman said the parties are less strong and rely a lot on their leaders.
"If you notice, leaders have more influence on each party member, as compared to love for the party. That is why when a leader takes a leap, his supporters behind him would also do the same," said Rahman, a former federal minister and now Tuaran Umno chief.
Rahman added that the opposition is important or the nation to move forward because they help in the crucial check and balance of the government.
"I think we should create a culture where the opposition is not treated as an outcast.
"I've seen some opposition MPs who speak in Parliament with nothing but only the best interests of the nation at heart. We should change this mindset, that it's okay to be an opposition member.
"When I was a minister, I was one of the first Umno ministers who invited the opposition to visit me in my office and have a by-partisan discussion and participation when there was a problem. We must first stop treating the opposition as outcasts and try to include them in the decision making process," Rahman said.
Speaking on the federal constitution, he said Article 10's freedoms for assembly, speech and association should be re-looked at.
Rahman also said politicians should be kept out of development matters.
"Leave it to civil society, and even if you wish to show your support to the ruling party, you don't have to jump. Instead, the MP or Adun can still show support through Parliament voting sessions," he said.
Upko secretary-general Nelson Angang said that even an anti-hopping law would not be able to stop an elected representative from doing so.
"Even legal opinion is that an anti-hopping law would not stop the phenomenon.
"Sabah is known for its colourful history of party hopping."
Nelson said the trend now is that you resign to become an independent first, before joining another political party.
"We should also look at why someone is hopping … if there is no demand, I believe no one would simply make a jump," he said.
Parties should also amend their constitution by not accepting hoppers into a new party for a certain period of time," he added.
In late February this year, several MPs from the Pakatan Harapan government exited the coalition, causing the collapse of the federal government. This led to the formation of the loose Perikatan Nasional bloc a week after that political impasse.
While admitting that Article 10 (1)(c) of the Federal Constitution allows freedom of association, he said an MP must seek the approval of his or her voters too before jumping ship.
He also referred to a Supreme Court decision in 1992 in Kelantan between the state legislative assembly and Nordin Salleh.
In that case, the court came to the conclusion that an amendment to the Kelantan constitution, which prohibited party-hopping, was inconsistent with Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.
The forum was moderated by Bersih 2.0 Sabah's Beverly Joeman.