Natural for PH to focus on power consolidation once in govt - Ti Lian Ker
SHAH ALAM - Once Pakatan Harapan (PH) comes to power, it seems their immediate concern is to consolidate their position and acquire more power, says MCA former deputy president.
Senator Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said Malaysia needs to hold their elected representatives to their promises and political convictions.
He said having clear principles and political fundamentals will help to maintain a better balance of power and a healthier governance.
“It is obvious that when the PH party comes to power, their immediate interest is to consolidate their power and their promises and welfare to the people become secondary.
“In 2018, many Members of Parliament (MPs) from Umno jumped to Pakatan (more specifically Bersatu) followed by the Sheraton Move and thereafter the anti-hopping law, 2020 was introduced to put a stop to discouraged hoppings from one party to another.
"If we allow MPs to shift their allegiance on their whims and fancies or under threat, then the spirit and intent of the anti hopping law will be defeated.
“We are actually going back to where we were earlier when it is not about political ideology, political struggle, political commitment, or political convictions. Instead, it's about political benefits and expediencies,” he told Sinar Daily when contacted.
Ti also highlighted that when the MPs go against the anti-hopping law, they are making a mockery of the parliamentary process.
He said every government wants to have a two-third majority towards obtaining absolute power.
“But we all know that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is what happened back in the 80s and 90s when the Prime Minister had more than two third support and became authoritarian.
“That was when corruption and corrupted practices rear it’s ugly head and abuses start to creep in and run wild thereafter," he said.
Malaysia, Ti said, not only needs a stable government and political stability but also a strong opposition. He said check and balance was not only important in the current legal system but even more so by the political masters as it has proven that politicians were greedy for more power
The only way to ensure a good two party system, he said was to have a stronger opposition.
“We need to elevate our political maturity by elevating our political literacy among our masses.
“With a more mature political culture and an effective check and balance, the people will get a better deal from their politicians,” he said.
This morning, two Bersatu MPs told Sinar Daily that the Unity Government were fishing for members of parliament to strengthen their coalition.
The two men revealed that at least nine people were planning to jump ship and pledge their support to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim including Jeli MP Zahari Kechik, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman and Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid.
In September, the government, which was formed through the cooperation of 14 political parties, had 147 MPs out of 222 parliamentary seats. This was one less seat to become a two-thirds majority (148 seats) following Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman move to withdraw support back in Sept 10.
Come October, Iskandar declared his support for Anwar on the 12th while Suhaili came out to declare his support for Anwar on the 30th. Suhaili confirmed yesterday that day that he has received allocations for his constituency but declined to reveal the amount. Azizi, on Nov 7, became the third person to support Anwar, stating that it had to be done for the sake and betterment of the people in his constituency. Zahari announced his move to support a day later on Nov 8.
Following these moves, the Unity Government now has 151 MPs and holds two-thirds majority.
