Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing
KUCHING: Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian’s move to join Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) today reinforces the need for an ‘anti-party hopping law’ in the country, opined Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing.
He said that the term ‘katak’, or frog, in politics to describe party hoppers was “the most demeaning move” for lawmakers because when a lawmaker hops from the party which they were elected, they lost the element of trust.
“Such trust is lost at every hop they make. The more frequently they hop, the more they lose credibility in the eyes of the society. Laws of diminishing returns, not in cash value but in credibility and integrity, are applicable.
“In the end, that particular lawmaker will become worthless in the eyes of our community and the ‘enticer’ of such a move is also equally guilty of degrading our lawmaker’s character. Why is that so? Because voters will assume that with every hop a lawmaker makes, there is cash transacted,” Masing said in a statement today.
Masing added that it (cash transactions) were not always the case as lawmakers were supposed to be people with integrity.
“In politics, the term ‘katak’ or frog is very derogatory. It is for this reason that our highest legal institutions such as the Parliament and State Legislature over the years have tried to push for anti-party hopping laws in order to stop our lawmakers from party hopping.
“That is why we address our lawmakers as ‘honourable member’, or YB (Yang Berhormat). Party hopping is not honourable, nor is it a benchmark of intelligence,” Masing chastised.
Today, Baru together with Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How and over 20 former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leaders officially announced their move to PSB in a press conference at the PSB headquarters here.
Both Baru and See, who are elected representatives, were automatically appointed as PSB Presidential Council Members, which is the highest decision making body in the party, according to PSB president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
During the press conference, Baru was asked by reporters to comment on him and those following him being referred to as a ‘katak’ by some members of the public on social media, to which he said that they “had no choice” but to leave PKR as the party’s leadership had gone astray from its original vision and mission.
“Politics is dynamic. Politics evolves, and leaders do change. So when you are in a political platform and following a political leader, when they do not maintain and not pursue the original vision or mission that you believed in, like PKR for example, when we join PKR, it’s a party that fights for the justice of everyone. Along the way its leaders changed.
“So when the leaders change and they divert from the original vision and mission of the party, then you have no choice but to leave. So that’s basically what happened. Because they don’t believe in the party’s vision and mission anymore, they failed you, then you leave the party. It would be silly to stay. That’s how we felt.
“When that happens, and when you leave, people call you ‘katak’. It jumps but that is a good ‘katak’ – intelligent ‘katak’. An intelligent ‘katak’ have to jump, but a stupid ‘katak’ will stay,” Baru said.