MELAKA: Members of Parliament (MPs) must not abandon the mandate entrusted to them by voters before completing their term, says Datuk Seri R. Ramanan.
The PKR vice-president said MPs were elected directly by the people and, unlike political appointees, had a responsibility to continue serving their constituents even when confronted with political differences or difficult circumstances.
“We are elected, not appointed. If it is an appointed position, whether you remain or step down is a personal decision.
“As an MP, you were elected by the people who placed their trust in you and to simply discard that trust and walk away is wrong,” he told reporters after attending the MYFutureJobs Carnival at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka in Ayer Keroh here on Saturday (Aug 15).
Ramanan, who is also Human Resources Minister, was responding to a question on whether a cooling-off period should be introduced for MPs intending to resign.
His remarks came after Wong Chen vacated the Subang parliamentary seat before leaving PKR and joining Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama).
Wong submitted his resignation letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul on Aug 5, with the resignation taking effect at 5pm on Monday (Aug 10).
Wong also apologised to his constituents for stepping down before the next general election.
His departure followed the resignations of Bersama leaders Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as the MPs for Pandan and Setiawangsa respectively.
Ramanan said the primary responsibility of every elected representative was to serve the people, regardless of party affiliation or loyalty to any political leader.
“Our duty is to the people. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly reminded us to go to the ground and take care of our constituents.
“That is our foremost responsibility as politicians, as the people placed us in these positions through their trust and without that trust, we would hold no public office,” he added.
