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Malaysian politics
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Norshahril Saat

Asian Angle | It’s time Malaysia had a law against party-hopping

  • Politicking was supposed to be suspended during the coronavirus state of emergency. Instead, MPs are crossing over like it’s a game of musical chairs
  • Left unaddressed, this practice will lead to apathy among voters and risks normalising betrayal and dishonour among holders of political office

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Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah has called for politicking to be put on hold. Photo: AP
Norshahril Saat
When Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah declared a state of emergency in January, his message to the MPs was unequivocal: cut the politicking and focus on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Yet MPs from the Perikatan Nasional government and the Pakatan Harapan opposition did exactly the reverse, soliciting defections to boost their parliamentary support. While Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise, politicians’ power-grabbing behaviour may have a deep impact on the country’s political culture.

Hours before the king declared the emergency on January 12, Umno MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaacob withdrew his support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. His withdrawal left Malaysia with a hung parliament of 110 MPs from each side. The parliament has a total of 222 seats, but since two MPs had passed on leaving their seats vacant, the tally was brought to 220. Umno is the largest party in the Perikatan Nasional government but has been playing second fiddle to the prime minister’s party Bersatu . Some Umno leaders feel frustrated for having been passed over for key positions in the Cabinet, including the deputy prime minister post.
Hours after the emergency declaration, another Umno leader Nazri Aziz withdrew his support. In fact, Nazri was the third Umno MP to do so in quick succession. Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had stopped supporting Perikatan Nasional during the budget vote in December 2020. Had the emergency not been declared, and parliament been convened, Muhyiddin would have lost his parliamentary majority, and that could also have meant Anwar Ibrahim becoming Malaysia’s ninth prime minister. In September, Anwar confidently claimed he had a strong, formidable majority to form the government.
The Malaysian National Palace (Istana Negara) in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA
The Malaysian National Palace (Istana Negara) in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA
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Recently, a statement from the palace said parliament could resume even during the emergency period. Details of what such sittings can achieve, or whether these can deliberate, block or pass government bills remain wanting. The truth is that even when parliament was not in session, politicking continued.

The latest crossovers came from the opposition to the government, boosting Muhyiddin’s administration. The prime minister, photographed with opposition MPs Larry Sng and Steven Choong, declared that he had obtained statutory declarations of support from them.

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