A Cultural Shift Needed to Stop Party Hopping

Of late there has been much discussion on party hopping particularly in Sabah. Sabah has been the focus due to the penchant of its assemblymen to hop from one party to another; it is also understandable why Sabah is under the radar because its electorates are known to have changed their government at least five times.

The debates on party hopping revolve around whether an anti-hop law should be enacted to prevent assemblymen from switching party.

While technically an anti-hop law can provide some sort of deterrence to prevent party switching, it is not the be-all and end-all solution to address the larger issue of politician hopping at his whims and at the expense of the electorates he represents.

The issue of party hopping at least in the context of Sabah politics is already ingrained and has become part of the political culture of the state. Let’s look deeper into the justifications made by the two assemblymen recently who ditched the PH-Warisan-UPKO coalition and became PN-friendly. This is not the first time that our politicians tell us that the reason for them to leave their party is because they need to fulfill the “development needs” of their electorates which is only possible with a good working relationships with the ruling federal government.

Question: why cannot the respective federal government apparatuses be mobilised to assist the state opposition-held constituencies? Why must an opposition assemblyman subscribes to the ruling federal government’s partisan stance if he were to benefit from the development funds contributed by the non-partisan taxpayers’ money?

Is it the system that needs to be changed in order to discourage party hopping due to unfairness in which development funds are distributed? 

If it is, to disincentivise an assemblyman from ditching his party, a mechanism has to be put in place to ensure that development aid is distributed fairly based on the pressing needs of the electorates – and let’s say if the assemblyman thinks that he is being discriminated against, he can lodge a complaint to an ombudsman body (or a Grant Commission, whatever names one wants to call it) specifically looking at facilitation of inter-governmental cooperation and distribution of development funds. This is something that can be looked into before an anti-hop law is fully enacted.

If the “development argument” is just a “cover” to justify the above said assemblymen’s craving for power and personal greed, the solution for party hopping could only be found if our society is ready for a cultural shift led by the new generation of leaders.

Coming back to the issue of party hopping as a “culture” in Sabah. Sabah politics is very personality-driven. Political parties are formed by leading figures and disbanded – some abruptly – after the leaders are no longer active in politics. So, the party followers, instead of committing to the vision and ideals of the party, are loyal to the party leaders particularly when they are in power. Once the incentive to seek patronage support diminishes, the party will be dissolved and the leaders and their followers will either form a new party or join the existing one.

The approach to create a new political culture starts with education.

The party has a role to play as an agent to educate its members about politics, policy-making and the importance of voting conscientiously. Schools and universities play a vital role as well – the existing syllabi must be revamped to take into account the dynamics of politics in this changing era. Those 18 year-old Malaysians who will be voters soon will find themselves empowered to take part in charting the country’s future – but before they can use this “democratic power” they must first be guided and provided with the tools to make informed choices.

Only the young leaders of today can change the political culture of the country. They have seen a lot already and understand more the sentiments of the voters who yearn for progressive and transparent leadership. There is a potential for the young leaders not to repeat the mistakes of their older comrades and to introduce a new brand of politics based on principles, pragmatism and progressivism.

Coming back to the issue of party hopping. It is more than enacting a law to address what is already deeply rooted in the political culture of the country. The present institutions and laws can be strengthened to check the conducts of politicians. Only the new generation of leaders can stop the practice of party hopping by promoting a new political culture grounded in professionalism, ethics and accountability.