Remedy against backdoor moves

WHILE the world has moved on from 2023 to 2024, Malaysian politics seems stuck in 2020 with the same storyline of toppling the existing government, with the latest in the series being the Dubai Move.

For almost a couple of weeks now, the Dubai Move has been a hot topic of discussion among not just political players and observers but also the general public, although the speculation started much earlier. Depending on who you talk to, there are different versions of the story.

What we know so far is that Pakatan Harapan accused Perikatan Nasional of being the culprit but the latter denied it and tossed the allegation back to the government.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s name was also dragged into the drama but he denied the claim, stating that he had no role in it.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor then made a joke about how the Dubai Move could have been a Chow Kit Move, an attempt to be funny that was taken literally by some journalists, unfortunately.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the honey badger that he is, refused to stay silent and accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of inventing the Dubai Move himself.

With the examples given by Dr Mahathir regarding the failed 2008 buying of MPs, the Kajang Move and the famous “strong, formidable and convincing majority” declaration made by Anwar in 2020, it would be easier to believe the nonagenarian’s argument.

However, by the same arguments, it showed that perhaps Anwar is not that great at strategising a political coup, given how he kept failing and wasn’t able to become the prime minister until the end of 2022.

As expressed by someone in his camp: “If he’s so good at manipulating things like the people who made that allegation (that Anwar is the Dubai Move mastermind), Anwar would have been prime minister years ago.”

As of now, no one can confirm whether the Dubai Move actually happened or who the masterminds behind it are, since there are many versions of the story.

There is, however, another chapter to the Dubai Move chronicle, with claims that there is “a group of non-political people” orchestrating the plot.

“They are not politicians but they do have a presence in all Malaysian states. They are currently strong in the southern and east coast states.

“These non-political people were previously happy with Pakatan and Anwar, thinking that they could easily get big projects from the government,” revealed a political secretary to a former minister.

Asked if the people he was referring to were influential business tycoons, the aide simply said: “Maybe, but maybe not.”

Pressed further, the political secretary had this to add: “They got upset when they weren’t awarded projects, and now they want to get even.

“How can we get political stability if even non-politicians play this sort of game?”

One Opposition leader told a similar story, saying the “non-politicians” insisted on helping Perikatan return to Putrajaya.

“Honestly, we have already accepted our fate as the opposition. It’s not like we are desperate. We do have some states and the MBs are willing to provide allocations to our MPs and assemblymen.

“But these people (non-political players) kept telling us to secure the SDs (statutory declarations). They said they would help us become the government again.

“One of us even said, ‘We don’t feel like doing this’ but they insisted they would help Perikatan and that they would handle things,” he disclosed.

The leader added that the “masterminds” will not stop until they get what they want.

With this, another plot twist is added to the whole Dubai Move saga and whether true or not, it is high time Anwar led another reform to put a stop to MPs treating the Dewan Rakyat as their playground instead of a respected institution.

MPs should not be easily bought, be it by political parties or non-political players.

In the last few years, constitutional experts have said that a fixed parliamentary term will prevent such devious plots from being repeated, and perhaps the Prime Minister ought to consider the mental health of all Malaysians and draft the law soon.

One may argue that the fixed-term remedy would allow politicians to plan ahead in terms of securing projects and enriching themselves but the reality is that corruption will exist whether or not a person’s time in office is limited.

What Malaysia will gain from a fixed parliamentary term will be so much more. It will streamline general and state elections, level the playing field for all parties, save millions of ringgit, increase voter turnout, prevent political fatigue and stop excessive politicking.

Best of all, a fixed parliamentary term will complement the anti-hopping law, thus stopping future party hoppers from causing another constitutional crisis.

This idea was first mooted by former cabinet minister Tan Sri Senu Abdul Rahman in 1974 but the proposal died a natural death. It’s time it was revived.