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Saturday, October 01, 2022

Bad for democracy if DAP’s gag is emulated, says analyst




Bad for democracy if DAP’s gag is emulated, says analyst


A recent amendment to the DAP constitution allows for the expulsion of elected representatives who do not toe the party line.


PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s democracy is in danger if other parties follow DAP to expel elected representatives for not toeing the party line on fundamental issues, says a political scientist.

Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said that the recently passed anti-hopping law had the aim of preventing party leaders from wielding too much power. However, DAP’s move to amend its constitution gave it a useful tool to stifle internal dissent or competition.


“If an anti-hopping law included the sacking (of MPs for not toeing the party line), then Muhyiddin Yassin and Mukhriz Mahathir would have been sacked as MPs for speaking out over the 1MDB scandal (when they were in Umno).

“In fact, they would not have had the chance to contest in a by-election since the sacking would have come when there was less than two years left in the parliamentary term.

“An anti-hopping law (like that) could protect the power of party leaders, especially leaders in the government who might be involved in abuse of power or scandals,” he told FMT.

At a special congress on Sept 25, DAP approved a motion to amend its constitution to safeguard the party from what it called a loophole in the anti-hopping law, in which MPs sacked by their party did not have to vacate their seats.

A week before that, Amanah made similar amendments to its constitution.

DAP central executive committee member Ronnie Liu has criticised the move, warning that it could curtail democracy in the party. He also said he would not have been a party member any longer if the amendment had been in force earlier, citing his outspokenness over various issues previously.


Wong said the amendment could see elected representatives losing their membership quickly with no opportunity to challenge their termination, while the definition of “toeing the party line” was very broad.

He also believed the effects of these amendments would be felt even in Parliament.

“If parties in a government with a simple majority take this step, then the government will be able to guarantee the passing of any motion or bill (in the Dewan Rakyat).

“Parliament would just be a ‘yes man’ to the executive. This will spoil our democracy.”

Another analyst, Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said DAP’s move was an act of compromise to ensure political stability after the Pakatan Harapan government was toppled by elected representatives switching allegiances.

“There’s a need to stop such undemocratic acts,” he said, referring to party-hopping. “Our partisan democracy is in a tough spot. In a mature democracy, elected representatives should have more freedom to vote (for or against motions) according to their ideology and conscience.”

He hoped that Malaysia’s democracy would grow to such maturity.


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